Research
Global analysis finds women report pain more often than men
Women reported pain more often than men across all 11 body areas studied, with pain prevalence rising most sharply before age 55.
A global analysis published in Nature Medicine found that women reported pain more often than men across all 11 body areas studied, and pain prevalence rose most sharply before age 55. Researchers analyzed self-reported data collected from 1990 to 2025 from 6,125,459 people ages 5 to over 100 in 118 countries and territories, Medical Xpress reported.
Pain prevalence ranged from around 2% for facial pain to 40% for back pain. The largest differences between women and men were for facial pain, headaches and stomach or abdominal pain. Headaches and abdominal pain peaked earlier in life, while back, hip and knee pain continued to increase with age, according to Medical Xpress.
From age 40, pain anywhere in the body, joint pain and back pain increased more rapidly in countries with lower Human Development Index values. At age 80 or older, the prevalence of any bodily pain was around 31 percentage points higher in lower-HDI countries than in higher-HDI countries, and low back pain was nearly twice as common. The authors said the reference curves could help compare pain across populations, and suggested prevention may need to start earlier and be tailored to regions.
