Women experience more intense pain than men: research

For the study, the researchers analyzed electronic medical records to examine more than 160,000 pain scores reported for more than 72,000 adult patients. The results showed higher pain scores for women in virtually every disease category. The differences were both statistically and clinically significant, the authors noted in a Stanford news release.In many cases, the reported difference approached a full point on the 1-to-10 scale. How big is that? A pain-score improvement of one point is what clinical researchers view as indicating that a pain medication is working, said Dr. Atul Butte, a professor of systems medicine in pediatrics.The overall results tended to confirm previous findings, such as the fact that women with fibromyalgia or migraine report more pain than men with those conditions. But the study also identified previously undocumented gender differences. For example, pain intensity among patients with acute sinusitis or neck pain is greater in women than in men.