Hudson, J I, Goldenberg, D L, Pope, H G et al. · The American journal of medicine · 1992 · DOI
This study looked at women diagnosed with fibromyalgia to see what other health conditions they commonly experience. The researchers found that fibromyalgia often occurs together with migraines, irritable bowel syndrome, chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, and panic disorder. This pattern suggests these conditions might share a common underlying biological cause.
Since ME/CFS frequently co-occurs with fibromyalgia and shares similar symptoms, understanding their common comorbid conditions helps clarify the overlapping clinical presentations and may point toward shared biological mechanisms. This suggests that patients with either condition should be screened for the other and related psychiatric symptoms, improving comprehensive care.
This study does not prove that fibromyalgia, CFS, migraine, IBS, and mood disorders share a single cause—only that they frequently co-occur. Without a control group, we cannot determine whether comorbidity rates in fibromyalgia are actually higher than in the general population or other conditions. The cross-sectional design cannot establish temporal relationships or causality.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
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