Fibromyalgia significantly related to variety of benign GI Tumors

Results from a new retrospective cross-sectional study revealed that fibromyalgia is associated with many benign gastrointestinal diseases but not malignant diseases. The study results were published in the journal Clinical and Experimental Rheumatology. 

Fibromyalgia syndrome (FM) is a chronic widespread pain syndrome that is characterized by frequent fatigue, sleep disturbances, and many idiopathic pain symptoms. Previous literature has shown that there is a higher prevalence of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) among patients with fibromyalgia. As the data on the relationship between fibromyalgia and other gastrointestinal problems has mostly gone unnoticed, researchers from Israel conducted a retrospective cross-sectional study to investigate the association between fibromyalgia and gastrointestinal disorders including both benign and malignant conditions. 

The study was carried out using the comprehensive electronic database of the largest health maintenance organization in Israel. Eligible subjects with a diagnosis of fibromyalgia with age- and sex-matched controls were included in the study. The association of fibromyalgia with benign gastrointestinal disorders including IBS, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), peptic ulcer disease (PUD), celiac disease, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, and with gastrointestinal malignancies including colorectal, pancreatic, stomach, liver, and bile duct cancers was investigated. 

Findings: 

• About 18,598 patients with fibromyalgia and 36,985 controls were taken in the study.
• The mean age was 56.5 years (standard deviation=14) with a female predominance (91%).
• There was a significant association of Fibromyalgia with IBS, GERD, PUD, celiac disease, Crohn's disease, and ulcerative colitis when compared with controls. 
• There were no significant differences regarding the prevalence of gastrointestinal malignancies between the fibromyalgia patients and controls.  

Thus, researchers concluded that fibromyalgia patients have an association with benign gastrointestinal disorders. 

Further reading: Savin E, Tsur AM, Watad A, et al. Association of fibromyalgia with cancerous and non-cancerous gastrointestinal comorbidities: a cross-sectional study [published online ahead of print, 2023 Apr 3]. Clin Exp Rheumatol. 2023;10.55563/clinexprheumatol/rp5lkn. doi: 10.55563/clinexprheumatol/rp5lkn