A new study states that women suffer more pain than men and there is a reason for that

The hormone that affects pain

Geoffroy Laumet, a neuroimmunologist from the University of Michigan and co-author of the study, explains: “It’s not because women are too sensitive or feel pain ‘in their head’. It’s a real biological mechanism.”

How was the research conducted?

As part of the study, data from 172 women and 73 men who arrived at emergency rooms across the United States between 2017 and 2021, following traumatic injuries, mainly from car accidents, were analyzed. Participants rated their level of pain immediately after the injury, and then again after eight weeks and 12 weeks. The men reported that the pain decreased more quickly. Blood tests indicated that interleukin-10 levels in the men were higher than in the women.

Also in tests conducted in the laboratory, it was found that male mice recovered faster from pain after an injury, and the levels of interleukin-10 in their blood were higher than in females. The researchers tried to change the sex hormones of the mice to test the effect: they removed ovaries from female mice and inserted pills containing a hormone derived from testosterone. These mice displayed higher interleukin-10 levels and recovered faster from pain compared to females that did not undergo the procedure.

Improving pain management

The researchers note that approximately 25% of adults in the US suffer from chronic pain, with 8.5% experiencing pain that limits their ability to work or interferes with their daily routine. There are various treatments for chronic pain, but many of them cause side effects and sometimes fail to alleviate the symptoms.

Dr. Ann Gregos, a neurologist at Virginia Tech University, who did not participate in the study, explained to the Wall Street Journal: “Many of the treatments focus on what causes the pain, but it’s also important to understand what helps the pain go away. If we can use the interleukin-10 molecule to ‘cut’ the pain signal, this opens up a promising therapeutic path.”