Fibromyalgia: Many may receive wrong diagnosis.

ISLAMABAD -- Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition that affects millions of people in the United States. However, the authors of a new study now warn that a significant number of people who have received a diagnosis may not, in reality, have this condition. People with fibromyalgia experience pain all over the body, as well as fatigue, headaches, and increased sensitivity to painful stimuli. Other symptoms may include depression and anxiety, poor sleep, and problems with memory or thinking. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), fibromyalgia affects approximately 4 million adults in the U.S., which equates to about 2 percent of the adult population. To diagnose this condition, a physician is likely to ask about a person's medical history. They may also perform a physical exam and request X-rays and blood tests. Although fibromyalgia is prevalent, new research has found that doctors have misdiagnosed many people as having this condition.

Dr. Frederick Wolfe from the National Data Bank for Rheumatic Diseases in Wichita, KS led the study. The findings, which appeared today in the journal Arthritis Care and Research, indicate that using textbook criteria to diagnose someone can lead to a different prognosis than using a clinician's in-person assessment. In this study, the researchers worked with 497 people attending a rheumatology clinic. All of these individuals filled in both a health assessment questionnaire and a questionnaire that the American...