OBJECTIVES: Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain, fatigue, and tenderness in localized areas. We aimed to systematically review and synthesize the existing literature on healthcare costs and resource utilization associated with fibromyalgia in five key European countries and the US.

METHODS: Embase^® and MEDLINE^® were systematically searched to identify studies reporting cost and resource use data for fibromyalgia published between 2014 and 2024. This review was conducted and reported following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-analysis guideline.

RESULTS: Among 923 citations screened, 24 studies were identified for final inclusion, reporting data for US (12), Spain (6), France (1), Italy (1), UK (1) and Germany (1). Additionally, one study included data from all five European countries, and another reported data from the US, Spain, and Italy. The average annual healthcare related cost in European countries was €786.48/patient comprised of consultation (€225.90/patient) and drugs (€560.58/patient). In Germany, the average annual cost of inpatient care was €3,725.84/patient. In the US, the average annual cost of care increased from $11,520/patient in 2006 to $12,472/patient in 2010. The average annual cost for inpatient and outpatient care was $4,711/patient and $7,384/patient respectively in 2009. In the UK, 42% of people diagnosed with fibromyalgia had to quit their jobs due to disability. According to the Work Productivity and Activity Impairment-Fibromyalgia questionnaire, fibromyalgia causes an overall work productivity loss of 58.23% in Italy. In the US, patients had an average of 15.1 outpatient visits per year and spent an average of 15.1 days in hospital.

CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicate that fibromyalgia leads to a substantial economic burden on healthcare systems and society. Inpatient care, outpatient care, drug cost and work productivity losses were the key drivers of cost in patients with fibromyalgia.