Major study finds more reports of pain among women
An analysis of more than six million people reveals differences by age, body part and level of development, but does not explain the causes.
Women report pain more often than men worldwide, according to a new analysis in Nature Medicine. The researchers mapped self-reported pain at eleven locations in the body; the study does not say that women experience every painful stimulus more intensely biologically.
The researchers analysed data from 6,125,459 people in 118 countries and territories. The information was collected between 1990 and 2025 and included participants aged five to over one hundred. The study established reference curves for pain at eleven body locations, including the head, back, abdomen, hip and knee.
At all locations examined, women reported pain more often than men on average. The largest differences were found for headaches, facial pain and abdominal pain. Back pain was the most common in the full dataset: approximately four in ten participants reported this type of pain, although recording varied by country and study.
The patterns also changed with age. For many types of pain, prevalence increased most sharply before the age of 55. Headaches and abdominal pain reached a peak earlier, while pain in the back, hips and knees continued to increase at older ages in the analysis.
The study also found major differences between countries with higher and lower levels of human development. Among people aged 80 and over, reported physical pain was approximately 31 percentage points higher in countries with a low Human Development Index than in countries with a high index. Lower-back pain was almost twice as common in that comparison.
The authors emphasise that the data are mainly snapshots. Most participants were not followed for years, meaning that the analysis shows differences between age groups rather than the individual course of pain in the same person. Pain measurements were also not conducted in the same way in all countries, and some regions and age groups were less well represented.
The results are therefore primarily a measurement tool for research and public health, not a guideline for individual treatment. They show where pain is reported more often and where further study is needed. The analysis does not prove which biological, social or medical factors cause the differences, nor that every woman has more pain than every man.
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The numbers, research question and main patterns correspond with the Nature Medicine publication and the independent summary. The text avoids a biological or medical conclusion that the study cannot support.
- confirmed The analysis included 6,125,459 people from 118 countries and territories. — This is stated in the publication and the Nature Portfolio summary. source
- confirmed Women reported pain more often than men at all eleven body locations examined. — The results are summarised in this way in Medical Xpress and The Guardian, based on the publication. source
- confirmed The largest differences were found for facial pain, headaches and abdominal pain. — These locations are mentioned in the independent summary. source
- confirmed Among people aged 80 and over, pain prevalence was approximately 31 percentage points higher in low-HDI countries. — This figure appears in the study summary. source
- confirmed Most participants were not followed longitudinally. — The researchers warn that the data mainly show differences between age groups. source
Editor's note
The study is peer-reviewed and published in Nature Medicine. The results concern self-reported pain and population patterns; causes, individual experiences of pain and treatment choices fall outside the evidence provided by this analysis.Sources
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