The DOI matches its Crossref record; 44 of the 44 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Sex differences in the perception of noxious experimental stimuli: a meta-analysis
Abstract
Fillingim and Maixner (Fillingim, R.B. and Maixner, W., Pain Forum, 4(4) (1995) 209-221) recently reviewed the body of literature examining possible sex differences in responses to experimentally induced noxious stimulation. Using a 'box score' methodology, they concluded the literature supports sex differences in response to noxious stimuli, with females displaying greater sensitivity. However, Berkley (Berkley, K.J., Pain Forum, 4(4) (1995) 225-227) suggested the failure of a number of studies to reach statistical significance suggests the effect may be small and of little practical significance. This study used meta-analytic methodology to provide quantitative evidence to address the question of the magnitude of these sex differences in response to experimentally induced pain. We found the effect size to range from large to moderate, depending on whether threshold or tolerance were measured and which method of stimulus administration was used. The values for pressure pain and electrical stimulation, for both threshold and tolerance measures, were the largest. For studies employing a threshold measure, the effect for thermal pain was smaller and more variable. The failures to reject the null hypothesis in a number of these studies appear to have been a function of lack of power from an insufficient number of subjects. Given the estimated effect size of 0.55 threshold or 0.57 for tolerance, 41 subjects per group are necessary to provide adequate power (0.70) to test for this difference. Of the 34 studies reviewed by Fillingim and Maixner, only seven were conducted with groups of this magnitude. The results of this study compels to caution authors to obtain adequate sample sizes and hope that this meta-analytic review can aid in the determination of sample size for future studies.
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“Basic research in laboratory environments show that women are more sensitive to pain [14–16]”
From Chronic pain and sex-differences; women accept and move, while men feel blue (2017) · cites this paper as [16]
Citations
Cites
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Cited by
Sorted by citations
Sex, gender, and pain: a review of recent clinical and experimental findings
Fillingim, R. B., King, C. D., Ribeiro-Dasilva, M. C., Rahim-Williams, B., & Riley, J. L. (2009) · The Journal of Pain · doi:10.1016/j.jpain.2008.12.001 · Cited by 2,766
Rolke, R., Baron, R., Maier, C., Tölle, T. R., Treede, R., Beyer, A., Binder, A., Birbaumer, N., Birklein, F., Bötefür, I. C., et al. (2006) · Pain · doi:10.1016/j.pain.2006.01.041 · Cited by 2,606
Studying sex and gender differences in pain and analgesia: a consensus report
Greenspan, J. D., Craft, R. M., LeResche, L., Arendt-Nielsen, L., Berkley, K. J., Fillingim, R. B., Gold, M. S., Holdcroft, A., Lautenbacher, S., Mayer, E. A., et al. (2007) · Pain · doi:10.1016/j.pain.2007.10.014 · Cited by 1,033
Somatic symptom reporting in women and men
Barsky, A. J., Peekna, H. M., & Borus, J. F. (2001) · Journal of General Internal Medicine · doi:10.1046/j.1525-1497.2001.016004266.x · Cited by 816
Evaluating psychosocial contributions to chronic pain outcomes
Meints, S. M., & Edwards, R. R. (2018) · Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.pnpbp.2018.01.017 · Cited by 719
Metadata
- Authors
- Riley, J. L., Robinson, M. E., Wise, E. A., Myers, C. D., & Fillingim, R. B.
- Affiliations
- University of Florida Health (US)
- University of Alabama at Birmingham (US)
- Corresponding author
- Riley, Joseph L
- Venue
- Pain
- Published
- 1998-01
- Volume
- 74
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 181-187
- ISSN
- 0304-3959 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2018901856
- Cited by
- 1,085
- References
- 44
- Citations by year
- 2026: 16 · 2025: 29 · 2024: 25 · 2023: 44 · 2022: 31 · 2021: 43 · 2020: 27 · 2019: 41 · 2018: 36 · 2017: 42 · 2016: 46 · 2015: 46 · 2014: 51 · 2013: 49 · 2012: 55
- FWCI
- 3.52
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Pain (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (DE-07283)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology (medical) › Pain Mechanisms and Treatments
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Sex and Gender in Healthcare
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Pain Management and Placebo Effect
- Keywords
- sex differences, pain perception, noxious stimuli, pain threshold, pain tolerance, pressure pain, electrical stimulation, thermal pain, sample size, statistical power, effect size
- MeSH terms
- Female, Humans, Male, Noxae, Sex Characteristics, Pain Threshold
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