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Women suffer more pain than men across the whole body, major global study finds (www.theguardian.com)
submitted 18 hours ago by to c/health@lemmy.world
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Researchers looked at pain around the world and across the human lifespan, finding steepest rise happens before age 55

Women report suffering more pain than men, a major new global study has found.

That was true for all types of pain the researchers measured, and comes amid continuing concern about the gender pain gap, which means women are less likely to be prescribed the pain relief they need.

Researchers from all over the world carried out “one of the largest harmonization efforts in pain epidemiology to date”. Data was collected from more than 6 million people from 118 countries from 1990 to 2025, and included people from five years old to more than 100.

The research, published in Nature Medicine, looked at how pain, as the leading global cause of disability, was distributed both around the world and across the human lifespan.

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[–] 8 points 18 hours ago* (7 children)

Or standardize the pain scale. A 9 on the scale for me is significantly more pain than a 9 for my wife because I have both a high pain tolerance and threshold. I say 9 because I've never experienced what I'd consider a 10 (pain so intense I lose consciousness).

My vasectomy without anesthesia was a 9.5.

But our response to pain is largely learned.

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  • [–] 5 points 13 hours ago

    It's not really possible because your hormones affect your subjective experience of pain. Things that are not painful at all during ovulation suddenly can feel extremely painful during menstruation.

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  • [–] 8 points 18 hours ago (4 children)

    Bro why did you do it without anesthesia? Mine with local anesthesia was already a whole ordeal I couldn't imagine making it through with out the pain relief.

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  • [–] 9 points 17 hours ago* (3 children)

    Because the surgeon didn't believe me when I told him I have the redhead gene and am extremely tolerant to all anesthesia. For reference, it took 8mg of Versed (standard is 1-2) before I even felt it before a down the throat echo of my heart, and my last filling required so much lidocaine that it paralyzed half of my face.

    He gave me a bunch of air shots, waited a few minutes, I wasn't numb, did it again for like 20 minutes and said, Well you have to be numb now, can you feel this," then made the incision. I told him I could feel that, but he just went right along.

    I was too busy diverting the pain to stop him at that point. But honestly, he was so fast that I likely would have been in pain for longer if I had stopped him and made him give me more anesthesia.

    But, I basically did a speed run of the pain, because my recovery was almost completely pain and swelling free.

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  • [–] 1 point 10 hours ago (1 child)

    Ah I did have a similar experience getting a root canal. Whatever they gave me wore off and I was so over the pain that the dead tooth was giving me I told them to just keep going. Granted I chose the pain, but I get the mindset of just getting it done and over with.

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  • [–] 1 point 6 hours ago*

    That's kinda how it went. I had to stop to take a few breaths after he did the first one to keep from throwing up due to the vasovagal response, and he asked if I wanted to stop for more meds. I was already in the zone so I told him to keep going.

    His PA and nurse were visibly bothered by the whole thing. Which is fair because they watched a guy get tortured, at least from their perspective.

    But that was the day I confirmed my pain tolerance is higher than most people's. The only reaction I displayed was saying ouch under my breath a few times. It's problematic with stuff like exercise injuries.

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  • [–] 2 points 15 hours ago

    Same, which can create problems. If I say my pain level is a six, that means I'm in a lot of pain. A doctor who doesn't know me would almost certainly assume otherwise.

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