Lund Charlotte Indre, Rosseland Leiv Arne, Steingrímsdóttir Ólöf Anna, Engdahl Bo Lars, Stubhaug Audun, Furberg Anne-Sofie, Nielsen Christopher Sivert
Division of Emergencies and Critical Care, Department of Research and Development, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway.
Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
Pain. 2025 Jan 1;166(1):144-152. doi: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000003333. Epub 2024 Jul 26.
Female sex is a prominent risk factor for chronic pain, although the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the relationship between age at menopause, reproductive lifespan, and chronic pain in a sample of postmenopausal women aged 40 to 93 years. Data were collected from the Tromsø study conducted in Norway between 2015 and 2016 (Tromsø7). Chronic pain was assessed using a single question, which formed a sample size of 5741 participants. Chronic widespread pain was evaluated using the more comprehensive Graphical Index of Pain, resulting in a sample size of 5920 women. Premenopausal women and those who experienced menstrual cessation due to chemotherapy/radiation or hormonal intrauterine devices were excluded from the analysis. Adjusted relative risk ratios with 95% confidence intervals were calculated to determine associations. The results showed that early menopause was associated with a 1% increase in the prevalence of chronic pain for each year of earlier onset at menopause (0.992, CI 95% 0.985-0.998). This association was also observed in women who experienced natural menopause only. However, the association between menopause and chronic widespread pain did not reach statistical significance in the fully adjusted analysis (0.996, CI 95% 0.975-1.017). There were no significant associations found between reproductive lifespan and either outcome. In conclusion, the findings suggest that early menopause in postmenopausal women is linked to a higher prevalence of chronic pain. However, reproductive lifespan does not appear to have a significant impact on chronic pain or chronic widespread pain.
女性性别是慢性疼痛的一个显著风险因素，尽管其潜在机制尚未完全明确。这项横断面研究旨在调查40至93岁绝经后女性样本中绝经年龄、生殖寿命与慢性疼痛之间的关系。数据收集自2015年至2016年在挪威进行的特罗姆瑟研究（特罗姆瑟7）。使用一个单一问题评估慢性疼痛，形成了一个5741名参与者的样本量。使用更全面的疼痛图形指数评估慢性广泛性疼痛，得到了一个5920名女性的样本量。分析排除了绝经前女性以及因化疗/放疗或激素宫内节育器而停经的女性。计算了具有95%置信区间的调整相对风险比以确定关联。结果显示，绝经年龄每提前一年，早绝经与慢性疼痛患病率增加1%相关（0.992，95%置信区间0.985 - 0.998）。这种关联也仅在自然绝经的女性中观察到。然而，在完全调整分析中，绝经与慢性广泛性疼痛之间的关联未达到统计学显著性（0.996，95%置信区间0.975 - 1.017）。未发现生殖寿命与任何一种结果之间存在显著关联。总之，研究结果表明绝经后女性的早绝经与慢性疼痛的较高患病率相关。然而，生殖寿命似乎对慢性疼痛或慢性广泛性疼痛没有显著影响。
