{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,7]],"date-time":"2026-08-07T16:49:22Z","timestamp":1786121362371,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":25,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,7]],"date-time":"2026-08-07T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1786060800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Med."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic widespread pain syndrome frequently accompanied by fatigue, cognitive dysfunction, psychological symptoms, and multiple somatic symptoms. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has affected millions worldwide; however, its long-term sequelae remain incompletely understood.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Objective<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This study aimed to investigate whether prior COVID-19 infection was associated with a higher prevalence of fibromyalgia and to identify demographic and clinical factors associated with fibromyalgia in the study population.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Subjects and methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This comparative cross-sectional study included 250\u202findividuals with PCR-confirmed COVID-19 at least 3\u202fmonths before assessment and 250\u202fparticipants without a known history of confirmed COVID-19 infection. Data were collected at a single time point using a structured questionnaire and interview. Fibromyalgia status was defined as fulfillment of the modified 2016 American College of Rheumatology criteria.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Fibromyalgia criteria were fulfilled by 60\/250\u202fparticipants (24.0%) with prior COVID-19 infection compared with 35\/250\u202fparticipants (14.0%) in the comparison group. In crude analysis, prior COVID-19 infection was associated with higher odds of fibromyalgia criteria fulfillment (OR\u202f=\u202f1.94, 95% CI: 1.22\u20133.07,\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f=\u202f0.004). After adjustment for age group, sex, educational level, occupation, smoking status, and chronic disease, prior COVID-19 infection remained significantly associated with higher odds of fibromyalgia criteria fulfillment (adjusted OR\u202f=\u202f2.18, 95% CI: 1.33\u20133.58,\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f=\u202f0.002).\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Prior COVID-19 infection remained associated with higher odds of modified 2016 ACR fibromyalgia criteria fulfillment. Female sex and non-employment were also associated with fibromyalgia criteria fulfillment, highlighting the need for clinical awareness and early recognition of fibromyalgia-like symptoms among individuals with a history of COVID-19 infection.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fmed.2026.1876965","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,7]],"date-time":"2026-08-07T04:21:45Z","timestamp":1786076505000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Prior COVID-19 infection and fibromyalgia criteria fulfillment: a comparative cross-sectional study"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Mustafa","family":"Alhayali","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Rheumatology, Ibn Sina University of Medical and Pharmaceutical Sciences","place":["Baghdad, Iraq"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sami","family":"Salman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Baghdad","place":["Baghdad, Iraq"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mustafa A.","family":"Shahrori","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, An-Najah National University","place":["Nablus, Palestine"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Aya","family":"Ahmed Shimal","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Medicine, University of Baghdad","place":["Baghdad, Iraq"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Marafi Jammaa","family":"Ahmed","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, University of Bahri","place":["Khartoum, Sudan"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Marwah","family":"Al-mashhadani","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Internal Medicine Department, Aldujail Hospital, Salahaldin","place":["Iraq"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zainab","family":"Shukur","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Internal Medicine, West Anaheim Medical Center","place":["Anaheim, CA, United States"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Noor","family":"Alfirtusi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Heart and Vascular Consultants DMC, Associate Retinal Consultants","place":["Royal Oak, MI, United States"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ahmed Dheyaa","family":"Al-Obaidi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Medicine, University of Baghdad","place":["Baghdad, Iraq"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,7]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e44852","DOI":"10.7759\/CUREUS.44852","article-title":"Is fibromyalgia a fashionable diagnosis or a medical mystery?","volume":"15","author":"Varrassi","year":"2023","journal-title":"Cureus"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"ITC33","DOI":"10.7326\/AITC202003030","article-title":"Fibromyalgia","volume":"172","author":"Bair","year":"2020","journal-title":"Ann Intern Med"},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"5922","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms25115922","article-title":"Inflammation, autoimmunity, and infection in fibromyalgia: a narrative review","volume":"25","author":"Paroli","year":"2024","journal-title":"Int J Mol Sci"},{"key":"ref4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"645","DOI":"10.1038\/s41584-020-00506-w","article-title":"Fibromyalgia: an 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