The fibromyalgia syndrome impact in men: A gender perspective in health

Identifier:  TFM:367

Handle: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11797/TFM367

Authors:  Ruschak, Ilga

Abstract:
The advances in the treatment of fibromyalgia are hampered by the unknown etiology. Studies of the influence of this pathology in males are scarce or non- existent due to the higher prevalence among females. Initial literature search showed that comparative studies of both genres were limited to only few studies with despair results. However, some authors noticed critical discrepancies depending on the genre which may impede the extrapolation of results. For all these reasons, we considered the hypothesis that fibromyalgia could present important differences depending on the genre and studies focused on its implication in males would be of high interest for the health community. The main objectives of this project are focused on studying the experiences of males affected by this pathology, comparing the clinical features and impact of this illness depending on the genre. Mixed-methods were integrated in the present study: qualitative analysis may help in understanding the experiences of affected population; and quantitative studies would permit the analysis of the impact and symptomatology. Results derived from this project would be of great interest considering the lack of information available in the literature. Moreover, gaining insight of this genre- depending pathology is potentially valuable for both the patient and the sanitary personnel which would benefit from the availability of guidelines ensuring individualized and more empathic attention.