A study depicted that dysmenorrhea may be a vital risk factor of developing fibromyalgia. Compared to females without dysmenorrhea, females with dysmenorrhea have a considerably greater risk of fibromyalgia. Treating dysmenorrhea with hormonal contraceptives minimized the risk of fibromyalgia suggesting that personalized medicine for mitigating dysmenorrhea may be vital to minimize fibromyalgia risk.

A cohort study was carried out to analyze whether females with dysmenorrhea have an elevated risk of fibromyalgia and whether treating dysmenorrhea alleviates fibromyalgia risk. The Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2000 from the Taiwan National Health Research Institutes Database was used.

Based on age, sex, and the year of trial entrance by frequency matching, the dysmenorrhea group (n=38,243) was matched with a non-dysmenorrhea group (n=38,243) at a 1:1 ratio. Using the multivariable cox proportional hazard regression models, the risk of fibromyalgia was determined. The potential confounding variables such as age, medication use, and comorbidities were effectively controlled. Fibromyalgia was the primary endpoint of the study.

The overall prevalence of fibromyalgia and the incidence rate of fibromyalgia was found to be greater in the dysmenorrhea arm compared to the comparison cohort, as shown in the following table:

The Kaplan–Meier analysis illustrated that the dysmenorrhea group had a greater cumulative incidence of fibromyalgia than the comparison group at the end of the follow-up period, as shown in the following table:

Thus, hormonal contraceptives appear to be a promising approach to lower fibromyalgia risk in females with dysmenorrhea.