Objective: Osteomalacia and fibromyalgia have overlapping symptoms. This review compares and contrasts the 2 conditions and suggests that osteomalacia may be commonly misdiagnosed as fibromyalgia.
Methods: A literature search using PubMed and Google Scholar was performed with the following key words: osteomalacia, vitamin D, vitamin D deficiency, fibromyalgia, bone quality.
Results: 55 articles were selected. Osteomalacia, a curable disease, is unfortunately underdiagnosed and too often labeled as fibromyalgia.
Conclusion: Given the widespread vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency and the non-specific symptom overlap shared with fibromyalgia, many patients may, in fact, have unrecognized cases of osteomalacia. Intervention with large doses of vitamin D to objectively increase blood levels may help treat the cause, as opposed to continual management of fibromyalgia.
Author keywords: Osteomalacia; Fibromyalgia; Vitamin D Deficiency
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