Women take longer to recover from pain and are more likely than men to develop chronic pain after a traumatic injury, according to a recent study published in Science Immunology.
The study found that men appear to have faster pain-resolution mechanisms, partly due to differences in testosterone levels and immune response.
Researchers said that after traumatic injury, men tended to recover more quickly because they had higher levels of circulating monocytes expressing interleukin-10 (IL-10), an anti-inflammatory molecule linked to suppressing inflammation.
According to the study, stronger IL-10 activity may help promote greater immune regulation and reduce the risk of autoimmune damage, potentially helping explain why men in the study recovered faster from pain.
“It’s not because women are too emotional or too soft, and the pain is just in their head,” Geoffroy Laumet, a neuroimmunologist at Michigan State University and co-author of the study, told The Wall Street Journal.
Men’s pain resolved faster
Researchers found that men generally reported their pain fading more quickly, while blood tests showed they had higher levels of IL-10 than women.
To better understand the findings, scientists also carried out laboratory studies in mice. They found that male mice recovered faster than female mice and also showed higher IL-10 levels in their blood.
Commenting on the findings, Ann Gregus, a neuroscientist at Virginia Tech who was not involved in the study, said the molecule could point to a possible new treatment path.
“If we have something that can kind of cut that pain signal, the interleukin-10 molecule, it’s a potential therapeutic avenue,” she said.