Year: 2014
Type: dissertation
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Sex differences in pain perception have led researchers to hypothesize that ovarian hormones might mediate these differences. The animal and human literature demonstrates that ovarian hormones modulate pain and its treatments in female rodents as well as women in their reproductive years. While rife with inconsistencies in study design, the general agreement of the clinical literature raises the question as to whether this sex difference and role of ovarian hormones is taken into account in clinical practice. A chart review of 254 patient records of a specialist pain clinic in a large Canadian city revealed sex differences in types of chronic non-cancer pain (CNCP) conditions, treatments, and in sheer numbers of patients. The majority of patients were women in their reproductive years and many had co-occurring pelvic pain. Interestingly, women’s charts included no information on ovarian hormones or phase of the menstrual cycle suggesting that ovarian hormones are an overlooked aspect of CNCP treatment.
Source: TSpace (University of Toronto)
Author: Samah Hassan
Language: English
Topic: Sex and Gender in Healthcare
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W3201128034