Sex differences in psychophysical and neurophysiological responses to pain in older adults: a cross-sectional study

摘要

Neuroimaging studies in younger adults have demonstrated sex differences in brain processing of painful experimental stimuli. Such differences may contribute to findings that women suffer disproportionately from pain. It is not known whether sex-related differences in pain processing extend to older adults. This cross-sectional study investigated sex differences in pain reports and brain response to pain in 12 cognitively healthy older female adults and 12 cognitively healthy age-matched older male adults (age range 65–81, median?=?67). Participants underwent psychophysical assessments of thermal pain responses, functional MRI, and psychosocial assessment. When compared to older males, older females reported experiencing mild and moderate pain at lower stimulus intensities (i.e., exhibited greater pain sensitivity; Cohen’s d?=?0.92 and 0.99, respectively, p?