Gender Differences in the Prevalence of Fibromyalgia and in Concomitant Medical and Psychiatric Disorders: A National Veterans Health Administration Study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Fibromyalgia is a poorly understood, chronically disabling pain syndrome. While research has focused on its clinical presentation and treatment, less is known about fibromyalgia's clinical epidemiology in real-world healthcare systems. Gender differences have been difficult to study because relatively few males are diagnosed with fibromyalgia.

Methods

Veterans Health Administration (VHA) patients diagnosed with fibromyalgia nationwide in FY 2012 were compared to Veterans with other pain diagnoses on sociodemographic characteristics, medical and psychiatric diagnoses, health service use, and opioid and psychotropic prescription fills. Additional analyses compared characteristics of men and women diagnosed with fibromyalgia. Risk ratios and Cohen's d were used for b

SUBMITTER: Arout CA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6425926 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature