De fleste patienter med kronisk smerte er kvinder, men det har været vanskeligt at afgøre, om denne kønsfordeling svarer til reelle forskelle i smertefølsomhed. Epidemiologiske og laboratoriedata viser, at der er klare forskelle mellem kønnene i smerteoplevelse. Forklaringer spænder fra forskelle i erfaringer og sociokulturelle faktorer til hormonelt og genetisk betingede forskelle i hjernens neurokemi.
Titel på undersøgelse:
Sex Differences in Pain and Pain Inhibition: Multiple Explanations of a Controversial Problem.
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Hele abstrakt på originalsprog:
A clear majority of patients with chronic pain are women; however, it has been surprisingly difficult to determine whether this sex bias corresponds to actual sex differences in pain sensitivity. A survey of the currently available epidemiological and laboratory data indicates that the evidence for clinical and experimental sex differences in pain is overwhelming. Various explanations for this phenomenon have been given, ranging from experiential and sociocultural differences in pain experience between men and women to hormonally and genetically driven sex differences in brain neurochemistry.