Women, Men Experience Pain Differently

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Women, Men Experience Pain Differently

CLEVELAND Aug 06 (Reuters Health) - Women report more pain, more

intense pain, and more painful conditions than men do, according to studies

presented here at the Second International Conference on Women's Health

sponsored by the American Medical Women's Association and the Cleveland

Clinic Foundation.

What's more, a woman's pain is less likely to receive adequate treatment than

is a man's pain.

The perception of pain is influenced by a number of factors, according to Dr.

B. Fillingim of the University of Florida, Gainesville.

``Pain is not what travels along the nerves,'' he said. ``Pain is our own

personal experience.''

He noted that women are two to three times more likely to have migraine

headaches than men are, and women are six times more likely to have

fibromyalgia--a syndrome characterized by chronic pain in the muscles.

But although women experience more pain, physicians appear to be more

willing to treat pain in men, he said. For example, in a study in which

physicians were asked to describe a treatment plan based on clinical

vignettes, physicians ''prescribed higher doses of hydrocodone for males than

for females with back pain.'' Hydrocodone is a derivative of the pain-killing

drug, codeine.

Fillingim suggests that at least some of the gender differences may be due to

fluctuation in hormones. Younger women ``report greater pain sensitivity

during the premenstrual period.'' Moreover, he said that women who have

clinical premenstrual syndrome (PMS) ``are more sensitive to pain'' than

women who don't experience PMS.

Fillingim added that estrogen appears to be the culprit in this hormonal pain

experience because postmenopausal women who take estrogen also report

more pain.

In an interview with Reuters Health, Fillingim said the differences between

men and women are not completely explained by hormones. He pointed out

that it is more socially acceptable for a woman to say she is in pain than it is

for a man to do so.

Also, physiological differences may play a role as well. Men and women do

respond differently to painkillers, he noted.

``In several studies women appear to get better pain relief from drugs called

kappa-opioids than from morphine,'' he said. Additionally, some preliminary

research suggests that ibuprofen may be more effective in men than in

women.

Fillingim explained, however, that it is difficult to assess gender differences

in

pain medications because the Food and Drug Administration did not require

drug companies to report clinical trial results by gender.

``I think there are some current trials that will provide data on gender

differences but until we have those results it is difficult to recommend one

analgesic over another,'' he said.

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