ArticleCureus2021
The Prevalence of Fibromyalgia Among Medical Students at King Abdulaziz University: A Cross-Sectional Study.
Article in Cureus, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 16 citations in OpenAlex.
- Prevalence of fibromyalgia syndrome in Saudi Arabia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2023Pooled it
- Prevalence and Clinical Correlates of Fibromyalgia Screening Positivity in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- An Exploration of the Association Between Occupational Stress and Fibromyalgia Among Healthcare Professionals: A Cross-Sectional Study.Mediterranean journal of rheumatology · 2025Article
- The crosstalk between subjective fibromyalgia, mental health symptoms and the use of over-the-counter analgesics in female Syrian refugees: a cross-sectional web-based study.Rheumatology international · 2024Article
- Prevalence of fibromyalgia and irritable bowel syndrome and its association with studying medicine, a cross-sectional study in Al-Baath University, Syria.Brain and behavior · 2024Observational
- Assessment of knowledge and prevalence of fibromyalgia among medical students and physicians in Riyadh region.Journal of family medicine and primary care · 2024Article
- Prevalence of fibromyalgia among university students and its impact on their health-related quality of life: a survey-based study from Egypt.BMC public health · 2023Article
- Article
- Fibromyalgia among University Students: A Vulnerable Population.Mediterranean journal of rheumatology · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background and objective Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic, multifactorial pain condition. The latest literature suggests that genetic and environmental factors including continuous stress contribute significantly to FM's pathophysiology. In this study, we aimed to investigate the prevalence of FM among medical students as they are considered a population significantly at risk of developing the condition. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted at King Abdulaziz University. Medical students included in the study were recruited through a random stratified sampling method. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to the participants; it included questions related to widespread pain index (WPI) and symptom severity scale (SSS) to assess the symptoms and diagnosis of FM, which were established based on the current diagnostic criteria. All first-year students were excluded from this research. Results A total of 450 participants were recruited for the study. Among them, 291 (64.7%) were females and 159 (35.3%) were males. Their ages ranged from 18 to 26 years, and the mean age was 21.52 years (SD: ±1.52). They came from different academic levels: 97 (21.6%) were in the second year, 79 (17.6%) were in the third year, 70 (15.6%) were in the fourth year, 99 (22%) were in the fifth year, and 105 (23.3%) were in the sixth year. The overall prevalence of FM was found to be 43 (9.6%). It was established based on the number of students who fulfilled the diagnostic criteria or were previously diagnosed with FM by a professional physician. Conclusion FM is highly prevalent among medical students. Our findings demonstrate the likelihood of the influence of medical school on causing the condition, as it has a stressful education system with high academic expectations. We recommend that this issue be seriously addressed since FM leads to a significant burden on the students and can negatively affect their future medical practice.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.