Background & Aims
Individuals with musculoskeletal pain face not only the risk of enduring pain symptoms but also contend with restricted social function, impeding daily living and work. In China, the incidence of work-related pain was reported to be 41.2% in 2021, 55.5% of elderly inpatients experiencing similar challenges in chronic pain. The biopsychosocial model of pain posits that pain-specific psychological factors and beliefs affect patient experiences, but gender differences remained limited. The results from existing studies of gender differences in pain belief and help-seeking behaviours for pain reduction varied. And these studies have all focused on Western society, very few studies have investigated the gender differences based on the Chinese cultural background. Given these considerations, the aim of this study was to explore the gender differences in musculoskeletal pain situations, pain belief and help seeking behaviours for managing pain among adults in mainland China.
Methods
The study recruitment sustained two-month period, involved the implementation of a cross-sectional online survey, utilizing a specifically developed questionnaire. Inclusion criteria comprised individuals aged older than 16 years old, residents of mainland China proficient in Chinese, and owners of smartphones with internet access. Exclusion criteria involved unable to comprehend the survey, with history of psychiatric, neurological disorders or alcohol, substance abuse. Online ethical approval, the questionnaire, along with an information sheet on the Wenjuanxing platform, was initially distributed via WeChat to friends and relatives, and then the recruitment invitation with a QR code was posted on an official recruitment account. Questionnaire comprising pain situation, pain belief, help-seeking strategies, and demographic characteristics. Descriptive statistics, Chi-square tests, Fisher’s Exact Test, Mann-Whitney U-test, Kruskal-Wallis H test were used for data analysis.
Results
A total of 1618 participants (983 male, 635 female) with mean age of 30.99 (SD=11.49) years old completed the online survey. Of these, 79.7% (n = 1290) reported the presence of pain, in which over half of the participants suffered from chronic pain (55.5%). The total mean pain score of all the pain participants was 4.42 (SD = 2.51). In gender differences, male had significantly higher total pain intensity than females, especially on upper back, shoulder, ankle, knee and wrist pain (p?>?0.01). In terms of pain belief, we investigated whether the participants agreed with the views of aging could cause pain, and of my pain was more severe than others. Results indicated that male participants exhibited more frequent negative pain beliefs than female did (p <0.01). Besides, male participants reported more stigma ?unwilling to share my pain suffering with others?, but female reported more fear of experiencing pain in public ?fear to go outside and meet with friends (p<0.01). Concerning the help-seeking behaviours to alleviate pain, males were more active to seek for help than females did (p<0.05). Besides, regarding the internet usage for pain managing purpose, male participants searched more for pain intervention methods, contacting fellow patients and support group than female did.
Conclusions
The results of this study suggest that men and women have a comparable profile with respect to the overall burden of musculoskeletal pain. Sex differences were found for certain pain intensity, pain beliefs and help-seeking strategies. Men appear to report more pain intensity, more negative pain belief and reap more help. These findings contradict those of other studies, more studies are required to determine whether additional psychological and sociocultural variables are as moderator. Further research is to develop gender-specific pain education and pain treatment strategies.
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