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Last updated: Mon, Aug 12, 2024
It has been estimated that five million American adults have fibromyalgia and that CWP afflicts 5 to 10% of the population at some point during their lifetimes.1 Other estimates for FMS have ranged from 2 to 12% of the population.2 It is four to seven times more common in women than in men, and its prevalence increases with age. It commonly begins in females around the time of menopause. Once FMS has developed, it tends to persist for long periods.
Prevalence figures for myofascial pain syndrome are harder to find, probably because there are no criteria for the syndrome that are widely accepted. “Myofascial pain,” meaning pain in the muscles or fasciae, is fairly common, as the figures at the top of this section indicate (see Varieties of Chronic Pain). One estimate is that 30% of patients seen in a general medical clinic have some form of muscle pain.3
Chronic widespread pain, defined as pain lasting more than three months in both left and right quadrants of the trunk, has been found to affect 10% to 14% of people.4 Those with CWP are more likely than those without it to report other bodily symptoms, to report negative life events, and to have psychological distress (especially depression and anxiety). Those with CWP are also more likely to report parental divorce or abuse. It is known that some of this is because people who are suffering are likely to selectively recall adverse memories.5
Those who report widespread pain have also been found to be at increased risk of death over the subsequent eight years. Their excess risk is primarily an increased risk of death due to cancer.6