Fibromyalgia-PTSD Link Shows Bidirectional Relationship With Exposure to Combat Environments
Medscape
Feb 18, 2026
Spending time in a war zone can lead to chronic mental and physical pain. Now, research points to a link between two common disorders that can leave service members struggling.
Published in the journal Arthritis Care & Research, a longitudinal cohort study of 1761 US military service members found that those who had posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) before deployment were nearly three times more likely to develop fibromyalgia after returning home (odds ratio, 2.96; 95% CI, 2.08-4.22). Those with fibromyalgia before deployment had more than threefold greater likelihood of developing PTSD after deployment (odds ratio, 3.12; 95% CI, 1.63-5.95).
This is the largest prospective study to date linking the stress of combat deployment to the onset of fibromyalgia.
“We had the advantage of observing a large population before and after exposure to an environment that often involves significant stress,” said lead study author Jay Higgs, MD, a retired rheumatologist with Brooke Army Medical Center and the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.
Here’s what the team found and why it matters.