Experts are saying that if you have fibromyalgia, you should stay employed. Findings show that women with the condition are more likely to see more improvements and maintain their health if they remain active and employed.

Fibromyalgia is characterized by pain, body stiffness, fatigue, and sleeplessness. Not much is known about why the condition occurs or how to help it. Though some studies have been done, so far the results have been varied, leaving doctors unable to agree on a unified prognosis. Fibromyalgia seems to predominantly affect women and is oftentimes accompanied by depression.

Prior studies on fibromyalgia have suggested a connection between the health of women with fibromyalgia and employment. To further explore this topic, Dr. Susan Reisine and colleagues at the University of Connecticut, School of Dental Medicine in Farmington did a five year study on women with the condition.

The study was composed of 241 mostly white women that were 47 years old at the beginning of the study. The women in the study had been suffering from fibromyalgia for an average of 5 years and reported high levels of fatigue, functional disability, and depression. On a scale of 1 to 100, the women reported an average of 57 for pain. About half the women were employed and half were not.

What the researchers found was curious. First, they found that being employed did not keep the condition from developing in women, but they found that over time the women who were employed saw a considerable decrease in depression, fatigue, and functional status. Overall, the entire group saw a significant decrease in these symptoms, yet those who were employed saw a greater decrease. Although depression, fatigue, and functional status improved, there was no improvement in pain for either group.

The researchers are proposing that being employed does not keep one from developing the condition, but they are also proposing that employment does not offer any harmful consequences either. On the contrary, they are proposing that staying employed can help sufferers of fibromyalgia maintain their health and decrease their symptoms.

The study was reported in the medical journal Arthritis and Rheumatism. New studies have been suggested to evaluate whether ethnicity plays a part in this study.