Table 1

Demographic and clinical variables of the fibromyalgia syndrome patients and healthy controls


FMS (n = 90) (mean ± SD (range))
HC (n = 30) (mean ± SD (range))

Age (years)
48.17 ± 10.32 (21–68)
48.22 ± 9.02 (22–65)
Duration of pain (years)
9.28 ± 9.23 (0.5–45)

Painful regions
6.80 ± 2.05 (3–12)

Number of tender points
16.09 ± 3.33 (14–18)
2 ± 0.33 (0–4)
Mean tender points pain severitya
5.89 ± 2.27 (2–10)
3.13 ± 1.06 (0–3)
Use of antidepressive medications (number)
0.36 ± 0.52 (0–3)
0.21 ± 0.03 (0–2)
Occupational status
N (%)
N (%)
     Working
39 (43.3)
17 (56.8)
     Unemployed
20 (22.2)
9 (30.0)
     Workers' compensation
24 (26.7)
0 (0.0)
     Retired
6 (6.7)
2 (6.6)
     Student
1 (1.1)
2 (6.6)

aVisual analogue scale ranges from 0 = no pain to 10 = most intense pain. FMS, fibromyalgia syndrome; HC, healthy control; SD, standard deviation.

Thieme and Turk Arthritis Research & Therapy 2006 8:R9   doi:10.1186/ar1863

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