Fibromyalgia at an educational facility - Is there a link to indoor air quality?

Faculty in a health education facility became concerned when they discovere d anecdotally that fibromyalgia and multiple sclerosis were common diagnose s amongst themselves. Reports from professional consulting engineers indica ted that ventilation of the building was inadequate for laboratory activiti es, The local health department aas contacted for epidemiological assistanc e. A cross-sectional study compared rates between two populations. The comp arison building did not house any laboratories. Participants answered a wri tten survey that asked where they had worked in the building during the cur rent calendar year and whether they had suffered symptoms consistent with f ibromyalgia and multiple sclerosis that had lasted more than 24 hours. The questionnaire also asked about physician diagnoses for fibromyalgia, multip le sclerosis, rheumatoid disease, and other neurological illness. The resul ts indicated that fibromyalgia was occurring at an elevated rate in the bui lding of concern. A literature search on the subject of fibromyalgia etiolo gy did not, however, support the idea that it is biologically plausible for an environmental laboratory contaminant to cause fibromyalgia.