Fibromyalgia has long been tied to certain personality traits, both by the medical community and by some in the patient community. However, this observation has always been controversial, with many objecting that such stereotyping was erroneous and blamed non-physiological traits for a physiological illness.
Now, new research may resolve the controversy by tying both fibromyalgia AND a personality trait to a physiological root.
Researchers from Duke University Medical Center studied 3,176 neurology patients, looking at information from a genetic analysis, psychological work up, medical history and physical examinations. They found that a particular genetic expression, called alpha-1-antitrypsin (A1AT) polymorphism, was associated with a personality trait called “intense creative energy” (ICE) and also with fibromyalgia and multiple other illnesses.