Background & Aims

Pain research has historically focused on binary sex assignments, equating sex and gender. However, sex assigned at birth and gender identity are distinct. Gender diverse communities are understudied in clinical research, which limits our understanding of how sex assigned at birth and gender identity may be related to health inequities. Our initial study found that gender identity may play a larger role in pain perception than sex assigned at birth. Specifically, transgender women (TW) showed similar pain sensitivity in temporal summation tasks to cisgender women (CW), and both were greater than cisgender men (CM). This research builds on existing knowledge suggesting gender identity may play a significant role is pain sensitivity, but there remains a gap in knowledge due to the historic exclusion of transgender men. We address this by expanding our work to include transgender men (TM).

Methods

Here, we include a range of psychosocial questionnaires (Perceived Social Support Questionnaire, Center for Epidemiological Studies – Depression, LGBTQ+ Community Connectedness, Short Form-36, among others), and utilized quantitative sensory testing (heat, cold, pressure, conditioned pain modulation, temporal summation) in both cis and trans men and women.

Results

Preliminary data indicates that, for heat and pressure, gender identity plays a key role in expression of pain thresholds, such that men (CM and TM) displayed higher thresholds than women (CW and TW). Men (CM and TM) also showed greater temporal summation than women (CW and TW). However, trans participants (TM and TW) reported more adverse childhood experiences, greater depression scores, less perceived social support, lower ratings of body image, but greater LGBTQ+ community connectedness, than cis participants (CM and CW).

Conclusions

Together, these data support the notion that gender identity may determine pain sensitivity, but gender minority status may be more related to mental health outcomes. Future studies should be inclusive of sexual and gender minority groups and pay attention to those with more biopsychosocial risk factors that may underlie chronic pain development.

References

NA

Presenting Author

Robert E Sorge

Poster Authors

Robert Sorge

PhD

UAB

Lead Author

Samantha Stocking

BS

University of Alabama at Birmingham

Lead Author

Caroline Webb

BS

University of Alabama at Birmingham

Lead Author

Shruti Gunapati

University of Alabama at Birmingham

Lead Author

Nathaniel Goldfeiz

University of Alabama at Birmingham

Lead Author

Ayona Roychowdhury

University of Alabama at Birmingham

Lead Author

Stacie Totsch

PhD

University of Alabama at Birmingham

Lead Author

Tammie Quinn

BS

University of Alabama at Birmingham

Lead Author

D. Leann Long

Lead Author

Edwin Aroke

PhD

University of Alabama at Birmingham

Lead Author

Sarah MacCarthy

PhD

University of Alabama at Birmingham

Lead Author

Mieke Thomeer

PhD

University of Alabama at Birmingham

Lead Author

Lyse Norian

PhD

University of Alabama at Birmingham

Lead Author

Burel Goodin

Washington University in St. Louis

Lead Author

Topics

  • Gender/Sex Differences