#InspireInclusion On International Women’s Day

International Women’s Day (IWD) is recognised worldwide on March 8th, 2024. The aim of IWD is to celebrate the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women, as well as a call to action for gender equality. The 2024 theme is: #InspireInclusion.

The pain field has generated a lot of scientific evidence that chronic pain is more prevalent in women than men. Women are at greater risk for common chronic pain conditions, including migraine, osteoarthritis, low back pain, widespread pain, irritable bowel syndrome, and painful diabetic neuropathy. Healthcare utilization is also higher among women. The causes of the higher pain prevalence are multifactorial – including genetic factors, molecular and cellular differences (for example, the effect of sex hormones on neuronal function), circuit-level vulnerability, and psychosocial factors (such as gender stereotypes, socially learned gender roles and associated beliefs and expectations, and cognitive and behavioural factors). An overlooked factor is how researchers measures pain across men and woman. Pain assessment procedures can vary, and this can influence how men and women report their pain. On a wider level, research is needed to examine extent to which sex and gender biases occur in scientific studies and develop strategies on how to reduce them. Unfortunately, a paucity of literature is available on pain among those identifying as nonbinary, transgender, and/or gender-fluid, which is a priority for future research.

IASP is designating 2024 as the Global Year About Sex and Gender Disparities in Pain. Despite evidence of sex-related differences in pain perception and modulation in humans and non-human mammals, many pre-clinical studies still do not address sex as a variable. Even less study is devoted to human gender differences in pain, especially as the classification of gender identity becomes more complex and fluid. Find out more about the IASP Global Year Against Pain 2024 here.

Please see recent relevant articles in the European Journal of Pain below:

Ultrasound-guided percutaneous electrical nerve stimulation versus surgery for women with unilateral carpal tunnel syndrome: A randomized parallel-group trial

Guided internet-based acceptance and commitment therapy for provoked vestibulodynia: A randomized controlled trial

A two-component model of hair cortisol concentration in fibromyalgia: Independent effects of pain chronicity and severity

Clinical signs in the jaw and neck region following whiplash trauma—A 2-year follow-up

Cognitive-affective changes mediate the mindfulness-based intervention effect on endometriosis-related pain and mental health: A path analysis approach

Cervical muscle parameters and allodynia in migraine and cervical pain—A controlled study

Sociodemographic disparities and potential biases in persistent pain estimates: Findings from 5 waves of the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA)

Clinical relevance of resistance training in women with fibromyalgia: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Women authorship in pain research: A bibliometric analysis from 2002 to 2021

Sex differences in lifetime prevalence of low back pain: A multinational study of opposite-sex twin pairs

Veterans with chronic pain: Examining gender differences in pain type, overlap, and the impact of post-traumatic stress disorder