What is the impact of Fibromyalgia on the patient and society?
The disease impact of FM is not trivial and is comparable to RA. On an average, a patient with FM sees the doctor three to four times more often than the general population (17 versus 4 visits/year). This contributes to high direct medical costs. In addition, patients with FM miss ∼15 to 20 days of work annually, contributing to high indirect costs. Furthermore, it is estimated that as many as 25% of patients with FM in the United States receive some form of disability or injury compensation.
