In a landmark study published in Nature Medicine (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-026-04492-6), an international team of researchers have identified new genetic risk factors associated with fibromyalgia suggesting that the biological basis of the condition is linked to the central nervous system. Despite affecting about two per cent of the global population, its existence has been debated largely because biological causes have remained unclear. The results of this study is an important step towards resolving that uncertainty.
This large international study included data from around 2.5 million study participants from the United States, the United Kingdom, Estonia, Finland, Denmark, and Iceland. Of the 55 thousand fibromyalgia patients included, around 12 thousand were Icelandic participants in genetic studies of chronic pain at deCODE genetics.
Fibromyalgia is a chronic pain condition characterized by widespread pain and tenderness, fatigue, sleep disturbance, and cognitive symptoms often described as “fibro-fog”. It is not an inflammatory disease and does not cause damage to joints or tissues. Fibromyalgia is diagnosed more often in women than in men, but the study found that its genetic basis is highly similar across sexes.
Using genome-wide association analysis the researchers identified sequence variants in 26 regions of the genome that affect the risk of developing fibromyalgia. Many of the genes implicated in these regions are involved in brain and nerve function, providing new insight into the biology of the condition and supporting the view that fibromyalgia involves the central nervous system.
“These findings are highly significant for those of us working on the diagnosis and treatment of fibromyalgia and especially for our patients,” say Arnór Víkingsson and Árni Jón Geirsson, specialists in rheumatic diseases and co-authors of the article. “For decades, patients with fibromyalgia have been referred back and forth within the healthcare system or told that their pain is simply psychological. The findings of this study confirm that the condition has a clear neurobiological basis.”
The study also found that fibromyalgia shares genetic links with other chronic pain and related conditions, including low back pain, irritable bowel syndrome, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
The findings do not mean that fibromyalgia can now be diagnosed with a genetic test, nor do they immediately lead to a new treatment. However, they provide important new starting points for understanding the biology of fibromyalgia and may help guide future research into better diagnosis and treatment.
Daníel Guðbjartsson, Associate Vice President and Site Head at Amgen deCODE genetics, says the company has studied the genetics of diseases for 30 years, including the genetics of chronic pain.
“Scientists at deCODE genetics have long been working on research into the genetics of chronic and persistent pain, including the genetics of fibromyalgia, in collaboration with Iceland’s leading medical specialists, particularly at Landspítali and Þraut Rehabilitation. We thank our collaborating physicians and Icelandic participants for their steadfast support of the company’s research, which has made important genetic studies such as this possible.”