Economic and humanistic burden of fibromyalgia in the USA
Abstract
Fibromyalgia is a complex, chronic condition involving persistent and widespread pain of unknown origin. In the USA the syndrome affects approximately 2% of the population, with prevalence increasing with age, and has a greater predominance in females. The results of this review have found that there is a considerable economic burden associated with this disease, and in particular, the effect of the syndrome on economic losses associated with work activities is at least as important as direct medical costs. The humanistic burden is more difficult to quantify due to the numerous symptoms associated with this disease: widespread pain, persistent fatigue, feeling of weakness, sleep disturbances, morning stiffness, bowel and bladder irritability, mood disturbances, cognitive difficulties, dyesthesia/parethesia, chronic rhinitis, palpitations, auditory/vestibular/ocular complaints, regional pain and joint swelling. Overall, additional research is needed to quantify the impact of fibromyalgia on sufferers in the USA and the cost-effectiveness of alternative treatment strategies.
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Patients with fibromyalgia spend considerable time attending health care appointments.
“Studies from North America and Europe demonstrate that patients with fibromyalgia spend considerable time attending health care appointments.17,18”
From Does work have to be so painful? A review of the literature examining the effects of fibromyalgia on the working experience from the patient perspective (2020) · cites this paper as [18]
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- Authors
- Evans, C. J., Parthan, A., & Le, K.
- Affiliations
- Eli Lilly (United States) (US)
- ORCID
- Venue
- Expert Review of Pharmacoeconomics & Outcomes Research
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2006-06
- Volume
- 6
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 303-314
- ISSN
- 1473-7167 (ISSN-L)
- 1744-8379
- OpenAlex
- W2160514645
- Cited by
- 9
- References
- 56
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2020: 2 · 2015: 1 · 2014: 1 · 2013: 1
- FWCI
- 0.42
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Expert Review of Pharmacoeconomics & Outcomes Research (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Research
- Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Health Systems, Economic Evaluations, Quality of Life
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology › Musculoskeletal pain and rehabilitation
- Keywords
- fibromyalgia, economic burden, humanistic burden, work productivity loss, health care costs, chronic widespread pain, fatigue, sleep disorders, mood disturbance, cognitive difficulties, cost-effectiveness, treatment options
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