Guide To The Causes, Risk Factors, And Triggers For Fibromyalgia

Gender And Age

An individual's gender and age can cause them to be at an increased risk of developing fibromyalgia in comparison to other individuals. More than five million Americans over eighteen years old have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia. Of those diagnosed, between eighty and ninety percent are female. Females also have more extensive symptoms of fibromyalgia than males. On average, females have tenderness or pain at between eleven and eighteen different points, where males typically have around six. While the exact reasons behind the gender imbalance in this condition are not entirely understood, it is known to be associated with a couple of factors. Upon the discovery that fibromyalgia peaks when a female is in her reproductive years, hormone fluctuations and differences between genders has been implicated. The higher level of testosterone and endorphins in males can cause them to have a higher threshold of pain than females. The average age of individuals at the time of diagnosis is approximately forty-five years old. The risk for a fibromyalgia diagnosis increases as an individual gets older. The age of diagnosis is not always the age at which the individual experiences the onset of their fibromyalgia symptoms. While most experience first symptoms in their middle years, fibromyalgia can happen in an individual of any age.