Fibromyalgia actually isn’t passed directly to children from their parents like some other medical diseases are. So even while it isn’t a direct hereditary issue, scientific studies have been conducted to show that people have a higher risk of developing fibromyalgia if they are in a family where a member has had it before or currently has it.
In addition, if someone comes from a family who has no history of developing fibromyalgia, then the chances of them developing it are relatively slim. So while hereditary is at least one factor in why people can develop fibromyalgia, it isn’t direct (ex. A child will not get fibromyalgia just because their parents got it).
Fibromyalgia has been such a hot medical topic, that the scientific and medical research into it lately has gone much deeper than before. Scientists have even taken DNA samples of people who have fibromyalgia to look at the genes and see if they can tell us why people are more likely to develop fibromyalgia if someone has had it in their family already.
Each of our genes play a major role in our body and our response to these medical issues, and while we haven’t found any conclusive evidence quite yet, we have found a link between fibromyalgia and depression, which would probably help explain why taking anti-depressant medicine can help to bring down the symptoms of fibromyalgia.
The Hereditary of Fibromyalgia
The evidence is clear that there is a genetic factor to fibromyalgia. As we’ve already discussed, if someone else in your family like a sibling, parent or grandparent has developed fibromyalgia in the past or already has it, then you are far more likely to develop it than a person who doesn’t have a family history of fibromyalgia.
A family history of fibromyalgia is definitely a risk factor in whether or not you develop fibromyalgia yourself. But it’s not the only risk factor. Let’s say you come from a family with no history of fibromyalgia. In that case, you may think you’re immune to developing it yourself. While the chances are considerably lower, you are also definitely not immune to it.
Other factors include whether or not you’ve had arthritis, lupus or other autoimmune diseases. The autoimmune disease itself may trigger the development of fibromyalgia in your body. Other but less risky factors include trauma to the spine, emotional stress, and infections. Scientists also believe that sleep disorders, toxins and food sensitivities could also influence the development of fibromyalgia.
So when all is said and done, fibromyalgia is not hereditary in the way we may think, like having green eyes due to a mutation for given traits, but the evidence does suggest that your genes have the potential to at least influence the development and spread of fibromyalgia in your body.
What Does That Mean?
In most hereditary conditions, let’s say that both of your parents have cystic fibrosis. You would then have a twenty five percent chance of developing cystic fibrosis yourself. With fibromyalgia, however, it’s not exactly that simple. This is because that with fibromyalgia, there is no percent chance of you developing fibromyalgia if one or both of your parents had it. It only means that your genes would make it more likely for you to develop fibromyalgia under the right circumstances. Other factors will definitely play a role in developing fibromyalgia, however.
The Genetics of Fibromyalgia
Scientific studies have shown the numbers of the genetics of Fibromyalgia. For parents who had fibromyalgia, studies have shown that a very slight majority of their children had at least some symptoms of Fibromyalgia, but not enough to be officially diagnosed with it. Roughly a fourth of the children had absolutely no symptoms of fibromyalgia whatsoever. After expanding their research, the scientists were eventually able to discover that a roughly equal percentage of relatives in the same families also had at least some symptoms of fibromyalgia, even if they could not be completely diagnosed with it. So we can definitely say that there is a connection of fibromyalgia in the genes as revealed by the scientific studies.
So what kind of genes are we exactly talking about here? Don’t worry; these same scientific studies have revealed that kind of information as well. The studies have revealed that genetic abnormalities have been the primary genetics linked to fibromyalgia, specifically genes that deal with hormones and neurotransmitters. Eventually, we may also be able to know what exactly contributes to developing fibromyalgia, and then if there is anything we can do to treat the condition based on the new information.
Unfortunately, we don’t really know as much about fibromyalgia as we should. All that we really know so far is that there is a genetic link on it, and unfortunately if your parents, siblings or relatives have developed it, then you might have to accept that the chances for you developing it as well have increased.
Scientists and medical researchers have also discovered that environmental factors may play a role in developing fibromyalgia as well, or that fibromyalgia might be a combination of both the environment and genetic factors. These environmental factors can include a physical trauma, mental stress, or some form of illness or other medical condition. Other studies have shown that women are more likely to develop fibromyalgia as well, so daughters in the family are probably more likely to develop fibromyalgia than the sons. Fewer men have also been diagnosed with fibromyalgia than women.
However, just because someone in the family has fibromyalgia does not mean that everyone else, or even anyone, in the family is going to develop it. It only means that you would have a higher chance. If you begin to feel any symptoms of fibromyalgia, then you should speak to your doctor immediately.
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