Department of Psychology, University of Regina, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada S4S 0A2 Department of Psychology and School of Kinesiology and Health Science, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada BSB 232.
Pain. 2013 Mar;154(3):419-426. doi: 10.1016/j.pain.2012.12.001. Epub 2012 Dec 7.
The sexes differ with respect to perception of experimental pain. Anxiety influences pain perception more in men than in women; however, there lacks research exploring which anxiety constructs influence pain perception differentially between men and women. Furthermore, research examining whether depression is associated with pain perception differently between the sexes remains scant. The present investigation was designed to examine how trait anxiety, pain-related anxiety constructs (ie, fear of pain, pain-related anxiety, anxiety sensitivity), and depression are associated with pain perception between the sexes. A total of 95 nonclinical participants (55% women) completed measures assessing the constructs of interest and participated in quantitative sensory testing using heat and cold stimuli administered by a Medoc Pathway Pain and Sensory Evaluation System. The findings suggest that pain-related anxiety constructs, but not trait anxiety, are associated with pain perception. Furthermore, these constructs are associated with pain intensity ratings in men and pain tolerance levels in women. This contrasts with previous research suggesting that anxiety influences pain perception mostly or uniquely in men. Depression was not systematically associated with pain perception in either sex. Systematic relationships were not identified that allow conclusions regarding how fear of pain, pain-related anxiety, and anxiety sensitivity may contribute to pain perception differentially in men and women; however, anxiety sensitivity was associated with increased pain tolerance, a novel finding needing further examination. The results provide directions for future research and clinical endeavors and support that fear and anxiety are important features associated with hyperalgesia in both men and women.
性别在实验性疼痛的感知上存在差异。焦虑对男性疼痛感知的影响大于女性；然而，缺乏研究探索哪些焦虑结构在男性和女性之间对疼痛感知有不同的影响。此外，研究抑郁是否在性别之间以不同的方式与疼痛感知相关的研究仍然很少。本研究旨在探讨特质焦虑、与疼痛相关的焦虑结构（即对疼痛的恐惧、疼痛相关的焦虑、焦虑敏感性）以及抑郁与性别之间的疼痛感知之间的关系。共有 95 名非临床参与者（55%为女性）完成了评估感兴趣结构的测量，并使用 Medoc 通路疼痛和感觉评估系统进行的热和冷刺激进行了定量感觉测试。研究结果表明，与疼痛相关的焦虑结构，而不是特质焦虑，与疼痛感知有关。此外，这些结构与男性的疼痛强度评分和女性的疼痛耐受水平有关。这与先前的研究结果相反，即焦虑主要或仅在男性中影响疼痛感知。在任何性别中，抑郁都与疼痛感知没有系统关联。没有确定系统的关系，无法得出关于对疼痛的恐惧、疼痛相关的焦虑和焦虑敏感性如何在男性和女性中不同地影响疼痛感知的结论；然而，焦虑敏感性与疼痛耐受度的增加有关，这是一个需要进一步研究的新发现。研究结果为未来的研究和临床工作提供了方向，并支持恐惧和焦虑是男性和女性痛觉过敏的重要特征。
