Sex Differences in Pain Threshold and Pain Tolerance and the Effects of Experimenter Gender on Pain Report

남녀별 및 실험자의 성별에 따른 동통역치와 동통내성의 차이

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of experimenter gender on pain report as well as the sex differences in pain threshold and pain tolerance. Cold pressor test and pressure pain threshold (PPT) test were performed on forty dental students by both of a male and a female experimenter separately with 1 day interval. The obtained results were as follows : There were no differences in pain threshold and pain tolerance between males and females when they were examined by the same gender experimenter in the cold pressor test, but when they were examined by the opposite gender experimenter the pain threshold of males was significantly higher than females. When the pain threshold was measured by the same gender experimenter, using a algometer, there was no differences in PPT between males and females. However, when the same measurements were done by the opposite gender experimenter, the PPT of males was significantly higher than females at anterior temporalis and inferior masseter. For cold pressor test, females tended to report lower levels of pain threshold and pain tolerance to a male experimenter than a female, but the differences were not significant. Although both pain threshold and pain tolerance were increased when males were examined by a female experimenter in the cold pressor test, the statistical significance was found only in pain tolerance. When subjects were examined by the opposite gender experimenter in the PPT text, females reported significantly higher levels of pain at inferior masseter and males reported significantly lower levels of pain at anterior temporalis and inferior masseter.