The largest genetic analysis of fibromyalgia to date has identified 26 genomic regions associated with increased risk of the condition, with approximately half located near genes with neurological functions. The findings, published in Nature Medicine, provide substantial evidence that fibromyalgia has a biological basis rooted primarily in the nervous system, challenging longstanding perceptions of the disorder as psychological in origin.
Researchers analysed the genomes of 2.5 million people, of whom nearly 55,000 had received a fibromyalgia diagnosis. The team, led by genetic epidemiologist Hanna Ollila of the University of Helsinki and geneticist Michael Wainberg of the University of Toronto, searched for genetic variants occurring more or less frequently in affected individuals compared with the general population.
Of the 26 identified risk variants, roughly half were located near genes involved in nerve cell growth and pain sensitivity regulation. The variant most strongly associated with fibromyalgia appeared in a gene linked to Huntington’s disease, a finding described by the researchers as unexpected. The authors clarify that the mutation responsible for Huntington’s disease is distinct from the variant identified in fibromyalgia, and that having one condition does not confer risk for the other. The functional role of this variant in fibromyalgia remains to be determined.
Fibromyalgia affects an estimated four million adults in the United States and is characterised by widespread pain, fatigue, sleep disturbance, and cognitive difficulties. Diagnosis remains challenging due to symptom variability, the absence of validated biomarkers, and persistent scepticism within some areas of clinical practice.
The authors acknowledge that the dataset did not fully represent all ancestries and that the identified variants are not currently suitable for diagnostic use. However, they suggest the findings may guide future research into therapeutic targets.
Source: Kerrebijn I et al. The genetic architecture of fibromyalgia across 2.5 million individuals. Nature Medicine (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41591-026-04492-6
