- Between 2% and 8% of the global population are estimated to be living with fibromyalgia, a long-term chronic pain condition with symptoms including widespread pain, stiffness, fatigue, headaches, irritable bowel syndrome, and memory issues.
- Scientists have identified new genetic risk factors for fibromyalgia in the largest study of its kind, analyzing DNA from over 2 million individuals to pinpoint 26 regions of the genome that affect the risk of developing the condition, suggesting a biological basis for the syndrome.
- The study also revealed a genetic overlap between fibromyalgia and other conditions like lower back pain and irritable bowel syndrome, potentially leading to new treatment approaches and drug trials targeting shared biological pathways, offering hope for improved understanding and management of fibromyalgia.
Scientists have uncovered new genetic risk factors for a long-term chronic pain condition in the largest study of its kind
People with fibromyalgia have been “dismissed” for decades, experts said, but research which examined the DNA of more than two million people found the syndrome “represents a problem in pain processing”
It is hoped the findings could lead to better ways to identify and treat the condition in the future
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Existing trials focusing on incurable conditions such as Huntington’s disease could also “eventually benefit people with fibromyalgia”, according to researchers
Estimates suggest between 2% and 8% of the global poplation are living with fibromyalgia
Symptoms vary from person to person, ranging from widespread pain, stiffness, fatigue, headaches, irritable bowel syndrome and problems with memory or learning new things
Research led by a global team of experts included data from more than 2.5 million adults in the UK, US, Finland, Denmark, Iceland and Estonia
Some 55,000 had been diagnosed with fibromyalgia
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The team analysed the genetic differences in people with or without the condition to pinpoint the most common changes
DNA sequence variants were found in 26 regions of the genome which affected the risk of developing fibromyalgia
Frances Williams, co-senior author and professor of genomic epidemiology at King’s College London, said: “By studying the DNA of over two million individuals, we can be confident that the findings are real and they suggest that fibromyalgia represents a problem in pain processing.”
Dr Michael Wainberg, an investigator at the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute and the University of Toronto, said: “This work changes how we think about fibromyalgia at a fundamental level
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“For decades, patients have been dismissed or told their pain is simply psychological. Our findings confirm the condition has a clear biological basis.”
The study also uncovered a strong link between fibromyalgia risk within the gene HTT
Mutations in this gene can cause Huntington’s disease, a rare inherited brain disorder with no cure
Another variant pointed to a receptor that regulates HTT levels, which is already being investigated as a possible drug target for Huntington’s
Elsewhere, the study suggests there may be a genetic overlap between fibromyalgia and other conditions such as lower back pain and irritable bowel syndrome
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Prof Williams said chronic pain syndromes sometimes “cluster together” in people and are genetically similar
Targeting these underlying “shared mechanisms” could benefit a range of conditions, she said
Prof Williams added: “This study provides important new insights into why some people develop fibromyalgia syndrome and identifies biological pathways that could lead to new treatment approaches
“One of these pathways is already the focus of drug trials for Huntington’s disease, raising the possibility that existing pharmaceutical research could eventually benefit people with fibromyalgia. The findings also help us better understand why fibromyalgia so often occurs alongside conditions such as anxiety and depression, bringing us closer to understanding the condition as a whole.”
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Dr Nasa Sinnott-Armstrong, assistant professor at Fred Hutch Cancer Centre, said: “Understanding how genes, environmental exposures, and life events jointly contribute to the risk of fibromyalgia syndrome is critical
“Further research into triggers of fibromyalgia and corresponding changes in neural tissues will help understand what drives fibromyalgia and how to treat it.”
