Augustinsson Annelie, Franze Elisabeth, Almqvist Martina, Warrén Stomberg Margareta, Sjöberg Carina, Jildenstål Pether
Care in High Technological Environments, Department of Health Sciences, Lund University, 221 00 Lund, Sweden.
Institute of Health and Care Sciences, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, 405 30 Gothenburg, Sweden.
J Pers Med. 2024 May 29;14(6):583. doi: 10.3390/jpm14060583.
Red hair has been linked to altered sensitivity to pain, analgesics, and hypnotics. This alteration may be impacted by variants in the melanocortin-1 receptor () gene, which are mainly found in redheads. The aim of this narrative review was to explore and present the current state of knowledge on red hair and its plausible associations with altered responsiveness to pain, analgesics, and hypnotics. Structured searches in the PubMed, CINAHL Complete, and Scopus electronic databases were conducted. Evidence suggests that women with red hair have an increased sensitivity to pain. Conversely, data also indicate a higher pain tolerance in homozygous carriers of variant alleles. Varied responses to analgesia have been reported, with both increased analgesic responsiveness in homozygous carriers of variant alleles and less analgesia in redheads. Data indicate an increased need for hypnotics in redheads. However, failed attempts to find statistical associations between red hair and altered responsiveness to hypnotics are also evident. Even though there seems to be an association between red hair and an altered responsiveness to pain, analgesics, and/or hypnotics, the results of this narrative review are inconclusive. Further research studies with larger populations and testing are needed.
红发与疼痛、镇痛药及催眠药的敏感性改变有关。这种改变可能受黑素皮质素-1受体（）基因变异的影响，这种变异主要见于红发人群。本叙述性综述的目的是探讨并呈现关于红发及其与疼痛、镇痛药和催眠药反应性改变之间可能关联的现有知识状态。我们在PubMed、CINAHL Complete和Scopus电子数据库中进行了结构化检索。有证据表明，红发女性对疼痛更敏感。相反，数据也显示，变异等位基因纯合携带者的疼痛耐受性更高。关于镇痛的反应各异，有报道称变异等位基因纯合携带者的镇痛反应性增强，而红发人群的镇痛效果较差。数据表明，红发人群对催眠药的需求增加。然而，未能找到红发与催眠药反应性改变之间统计学关联的情况也很明显。尽管红发与疼痛、镇痛药和/或催眠药反应性改变之间似乎存在关联，但本叙述性综述的结果尚无定论。需要开展更大规模人群的进一步研究和基因检测。
