• Mina Vesal, Hamidreza Roohafza, Awat Feizi, Karim Asgari, Hassan Shahoon, Alireza Ani, and Peyman Adibi.
• Department of Psychology, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran.
• Medicine (Baltimore). 2024 Aug 23; 103 (34): e39418e39418.

AbstractExperimental pain studies have revealed inter-individual variations in pain perception that are influenced by age, sex, and country of origin. This study aimed to explore the age and sex differences in pressure pain thresholds within the Iranian general population. To assess the pressure pain thresholds, a handheld pressure algometer was applied bilaterally to the middle fingers of both hands. The participants also completed the short form of the McGill Pain Questionnaire to provide a clinical pain rating. This cross-sectional study included 1610 adult subjects (54.96% female, mean age 40.13 ± 10.18 years). The findings indicated that females generally exhibited lower pain thresholds than males when assessing pain detection and tolerance parameters (P < .001). Females also demonstrated a significant lower pressure thresholds and clinical pain ratings compared with men (P < .001). Additionally, significant differences were observed between age groups in terms of pain detection and tolerance thresholds (P = .02 and P = .03, respectively). However, the interaction between sex and age was not significant. No significant differences in pain detection thresholds were observed between the right and left hand (P = .11). This study underscores the potential utility of algometry as a valuable tool for objectifying pain in the Iranian population.Copyright © 2024 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.

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