A general population study of fibromyalgia tender points in noninstitutionalized adults with chronic widespread pain.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the distribution and predictive ability of fibromyalgia (FM) tender points (TP) in adults with chronic widespread pain.


METHODS
Using published classification criteria, we confirmed 100 FM cases and 76 controls with widespread pain not meeting the 1990 American College of Rheumatology (ACR) classification criteria for FM (pain controls) in a survey of 3,395 adults screened for widespread musculoskeletal pain in a general population survey.


RESULTS
At each of the 18 FM tender points, FM cases were more likely than pain controls to have tenderness, and the likelihood ratio (LR) was statistically greater than 1.0 for 13 of 18 points. However, the LR for individual points ranged from 4.0 to as low as 1.2. Females were more likely to have TP, especially at lower body points; however, lower body points were more discriminatory in males.


CONCLUSIONS
TP differ in their ability to predict FM among adults in the general population with chronic widespread pain.
White
K P
KP
Department of Medicine, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. kevin.white@lhsc.on.ca
Harth
M
M
Speechley
M
M
Ostbye
T
T
D000328:Adult; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005356:Fibromyalgia / Q000145:classification / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D016013:Likelihood Functions; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009141:Musculoskeletal System / Q000503:physiopathology; D010146:Pain / Q000145:classification / Q000503:physiopathology; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012727:Sex Characteristics