The prevalence of fibromyalgia among textile workers in the city of Denizli in Turkey

Aim: Fibromyalgia (FM) is characterized by chronic widespread pain, fatigue, reduced sleep quality and multiple tender points. A recent population study from Turkey found the prevalence of FM as 3.6%. A prevalence study among workers has not yet been performed. We performed a prevalence survey among working population in the city of Denizli in Turkey. Methods: The field survey was done in two stages. In the first stage 655 (523 female, 132 male) textile workers from four factories were asked to fill a screening questionnaire. In the next stage, participants who had widespread pain were examined by an experienced rheumatologist. Patients who had 11 tender points according to ACR 1990 FM classification criteria were diagnosed as FM syndrome and later a detailed clinical and laboratory evaluation was done. Results: Forty-eight patients (7.3%) (one male [0.76% of males], 47 females [9.0% of females]) among 655 textile workers were diagnosed as FM. The clinical features were as follows: all patients had widespread pain, 12.5% had arthralgia, 14.6% had Raynaud's phenomenon, 41.6% had sleep disturbance, 87.5% had headache, 52% had irritable bowel disease. Age, gender, marital status, income level, education level, smoking status, and body mass index level of workers were evaluated by logistic regression analysis; multiple analysis. Only three variables (age, gender and annual income level) were significantly affected FM prevalence. Conclusion: This is the first study investigating FM prevalence among workers from Turkey. The prevalence of FM appears higher among females, older workers, and workers with low annual money income.