Demographic and clinical characteristics of patients with fibromyalgia in an Indian population

Background Fibromyalgia (FM) is a widespread chronic musculoskeletal pain condition which affects approximately 1%-2% of the world's population predominantly females (female:male ratio, 9:1). The most common symptoms include musculoskeletal pain at 18 paired tender points along with morning stiffness, brain fogging, sleep disturbances, anxiety, depression and fatigue. We studied explores the demographic and clinical characteristics of the Indian FM population. Methods We screened 118 FM patients, aged 18-65 years; with moderate to high pain scores. Demographic attributes such as age and body mass index (BMI); and clinical attributes such as pain, flexibility, tender point counts, origin and duration of pain along with its clinical manifestations were recorded and analyzed. Correlation analysis was also performed between the clinical parameters. Results The mean age, weight, height and BMI of the FM patients (n=107) were 35.9 (10.1) years, 62.3 (9.9) kg, 1.56 (0.08) m and 25.6 (3.9) kg/m2, respectively. Patients felt an average pain of 6.9 (0.9) on the Visual Analog Scale (VAS); that was distributed on 15.9 (2.4) mean tender point counts (TPCs) for an average duration of 7.3 (6.2) years. We found a significant correlation between VAS and TPCs. No correlation was seen between lumbar flexion, BMI and VAS. Conclusion Indian patients with FM have a wide range of demographic and social attributes which significantly affect their clinical outcomes. So, while planning treatment strategies especially in developing countries the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics should be considered before administering any treatment strategy.