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