Global Study Reveals Women Suffer Higher Pain Rates Across Every Bodily Site Than Men
Women report experiencing higher rates of pain than men across every single anatomical site measured in a landmark global epidemiology study published in Nature Medicine. The research, which forms one of the largest harmonization efforts in pain epidemiology to date, analyzed data collected from more than 6 million people across 118 countries between 1990 and 2025. Participants ranged in age from five years to more than 100 years old, tracking how pain as the leading global cause of disability distributes across populations and human lifespans.
Lifespan Trajectories and Regional Disparities in Global Pain Burden
The study mapped self-reported pain across 11 specific bodily sites, encompassing the head, face, neck or shoulder, foot or ankle, hand or wrist, elbow, chest, back, stomach or abdomen, hip, and knee. Researchers found that women reported higher pain frequencies particularly for headaches, facial pain, and abdominal discomfort. For both men and women, the steepest increase in pain accumulation occurred before individuals turned 55 years old, indicating that a substantial share of lifetime pain burden develops during working-age adulthood. Pain levels eventually peaked at or beyond age 75, with back, hip, and knee pain showing continuous increases across the human lifespan.
Geographic and socioeconomic factors heavily influenced these trajectories. Individuals residing in regions with the lowest Human Development Index scores experienced substantially higher late-life prevalence of bodily pain, reporting nearly twice the rates of low back pain in older age. High-intensity pain peaked around age 50 globally, while generalized pain peaked at approximately age 70. The authors noted that while the likelihood of experiencing general pain rises steadily with age, the most disabling forms followed an inverted-U trajectory that peaked in mid-to-to-late adulthood before declining.
Smoking, Obesity, and Income Drive Global Pain Figures
Modifiable health and socioeconomic risk factors accounted for 18.3% of the total global pain burden. This attribution varied significantly by region, ranging from 12.6% in sub-Saharan Africa to 27.1% in eastern Europe. Smoking contributed 6.6% of pain in Oceania, compared with 2.5% in sub-Saharan Africa and 8.5% in eastern Europe. Obesity accounted for 11.2% of pain in Oceania, versus 2.7% in central and southern Asia and 14.6% in North America. Lower household incomes contributed 8% of pain in Oceania, compared with 6.6% in sub-Saharan Africa and 8.6% in eastern Europe. The study authors acknowledged limitations in the research, including varying measurement methodologies across regions and uneven demographic coverage, though they confirmed these factors did not alter the overarching global patterns.
Clinical Dismissal and the Reality of the Gender Pain Gap
Professor Andrew Horne, director of the Centre for Reproductive Health at the University of Edinburgh in the UK, described the research as landmark evidence confirming that the gender pain gap is real, consistent, and global. Pain also rises most steeply before age 55, during women’s working, caring and reproductive years,
Horne said, adding that women’s pain remains too frequently dismissed, underresearched, and undertreated. He emphasized that closing this gap requires taking women’s pain seriously in clinical settings, routinely analyzing health data by sex, funding research into biological and social causes, and developing personalized treatments.
Prof Rebeccah Slater, professor of Paediatric Neuroscience at the University of Oxford, noted the troubling paradox that women bear a higher burden of pain yet face higher probabilities of delayed diagnosis or dismissal. By analyzing rates of self-reported pain rather than relying solely on formal diagnoses, the researchers aimed to capture populations with limited healthcare access, establishing a foundation for more equitable global monitoring and prevention frameworks.
What Are the Findings on Global Pain Differences?
What specific bodily sites showed the largest differences between men and women?
The study measured pain across 11 bodily sites and found women reported higher pain than men at every single location, with the most pronounced differences appearing in headache, facial pain, and abdominal pain.
How many people and countries were included in the research?
Researchers analyzed data collected from more than 6 million people across 118 countries, covering a timeframe from 1990 to 2025 and ages ranging from five years to over 100 years old.
What percentage of the global pain burden was linked to modifiable risk factors?
The study found that 18.3% of the global pain burden was attributable to smoking, obesity, and low household incomes, with regional contributions ranging from 12.6% in sub-Saharan Africa to 27.1% in eastern Europe.
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