Cited by 115Pain Mechanisms and TreatmentsTemporomandibular Joint DisordersIon Channels and Receptors

Demographic predictors of pain sensitivity: results from the OPPERA study

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Ostrom, Cara, Bair, Eric, Maixner, William, Dubner, Ronald, Fillingim, Roger B., Ohrbach, Richard, Slade, Gary D., Greenspan, Joel D.·2017·The Journal of Pain

Abstract

The demographic factors of sex, age, and race/ethnicity are well recognized as relevant to pain sensitivity and clinical pain expression. Of these, sex differences have been the most frequently studied, and most of the literature describes greater pain sensitivity for women. The other 2 factors have been less frequently evaluated, and current literature is not definitive. Taking advantage of the large Orofacial Pain: Prospective Evaluation and Risk Assessment (OPPERA) study cohort, we evaluated the association of sex, age, and self-reported race with 34 measures of pressure, mechanical, and thermal pain sensitivity encompassing threshold and suprathreshold perception. Women were significantly more pain-sensitive than men for 29 of 34 measures. Age effects were small, and only significant for 7 of 34 measures, however, the age range was limited (18-44 years of age). Race/ethnicity differences varied across groups and pain assessment type. Non-Hispanic white individuals were less pain-sensitive than African-American (for 21 of 34 measures), Hispanic (19 of 34), and Asian (6 of 34) individuals. No pain threshold measure showed significant racial differences, whereas several suprathreshold pain measures did. This suggests that racial differences are not related to tissue characteristics or inherent nociceptor sensitivity. Rather, the differences observed for suprathreshold pain ratings or tolerance are more likely related to differences in central nociceptive processing, including modulation imposed by cognitive, psychological, and/or affective factors.Perspective The influence of sex, age, and race/ethnicity on various aspects of pain sensitivity, encompassing threshold and suprathreshold measures and multiple stimulus modalities, allows for a more complete evaluation of the relevance of these demographic factors to acute pain perception.

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Authors
Ostrom, C., Bair, E., Maixner, W., Dubner, R., Fillingim, R. B., Ohrbach, R., Slade, G. D., & Greenspan, J. D.
Affiliations
  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US)
  • University of Maryland, Baltimore (US)
  • University of Florida Health (US)
  • University at Buffalo, State University of New York (US)
Corresponding author
Greenspan, Joel D.
Venue
The Journal of Pain
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2017-03
Volume
18
Issue
3
Pages
295-307
ISSN
1526-5900 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2552174930
Cited by
115
References
27
Citations by year
2026: 11 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 16 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 13 · 2021: 19 · 2020: 18 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 1
FWCI
5.10
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Journal of Pain (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
National Institutes of Health (U01DE017018)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Pain Mechanisms and Treatments
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › Complementary and Manual Therapy › Temporomandibular Joint Disorders
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Sensory Systems › Ion Channels and Receptors
Keywords
pain sensitivity, sex differences, age effects, racial and ethnic differences, pressure pain threshold, mechanical pain, thermal pain, orofacial pain
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Aging, Ethnicity, Facial Pain, Female, Humans, Hyperalgesia, Male, Pain Measurement, Physical Stimulation, Predictive Value of Tests, Sex Characteristics, United States, Cohort Studies, Case-Control Studies, Pain Threshold, Risk Assessment, Young Adult

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