Women have greater painful sensitivity to pressure and are also more affected by emotional status

Abstract

Although emotional status is considered an important pain modulator, the differences and relationship of this modulation between the sexes are still uncertain. Therefore, this study aimed to compare and correlate the painful sensation and emotional status between the sexes in individuals with knee osteoarthritis (KOA). In this cross-sectional study, we used the pressure pain threshold (PPT) to measure pain and questionnaires to evaluate emotional status, including the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), and Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS) in 42 individuals with knee osteoarthritis (21 women and 21 men) aged ≥ 50 years. The findings showed that, compared to men, women presented lower levels of PPT in 85% of the points tested and higher scores in the BDI and PCS questionnaires. Men presented a weak to strong correlation with the PPT (r = -0.18 to -0.76), while women showed a weak correlation with emotional status (r = 0.25 to 0.38). Therefore, women have greater painful sensitivity to pressure and were more affected by emotional status, although with a weak correlation. Perspective: Greater sensitivity to pain and emotional alterations were observed in women with KOA compared to men. Although more research is needed to clarify this topic, these findings may help develop a new approach to the disease, considering the need for multidisciplinary care for chronic pain in this population.