Fibromyalgia Being Strongly Associated with Manual Labor Among Male Patients Attending Rheumatology Clinic

Introduction: Fibromyalgia is a common chronic pain syndrome, associated with different risk factors, including trauma. Many patients with the current or past history of manual labor attend our rheumatology clinic/s. Should manual labor be considered a risk factor for the development of fibromyalgia? Patients and Methods: A prospective study, where all male patients seen at the rheumatology clinic/s with the diagnosis of fibromyalgia were asked about their present and past type of job/s. Manual job was defined as a job where the participant had a strenuous physical activity of more than 2 hours during the working day. A similar number of Ethnic- and age-matched female patients from the same clinic/s were recruited as a control group. Results: 69 and 40 Arab and Jewish male participants were recruited, respectively. 54% of the Arab male patients and 20% of the Jewish male patients were considered manual laborers. Construction and renovation accounted for 46% of the type of jobs practiced by Arab patients. Only 4% of Arab female patients were considered manual laborers. Conclusion: Manual labor seems to be a risk factor for the development of fibromyalgia among male laborers.