• R B Fillingim.
• University of Florida College of Dentistry, Public Health Services and Research, 1600 SW Archer Road, Room D8-44A, PO Box 100404, Gainesville, FL 32610-0404, USA. rfillingim@dental.ufl.edu
• Eur J Anaesthesiol Suppl. 2002 Jan 1;26:16-24.

Background And ObjectiveSex-related influences on the experience of pain have received considerable empirical attention. Women are at greater risk for several forms of clinical pain and exhibit greater perceptual responses to experimental pain. In recent years, investigators have turned their attention to the influence of sex-related factors on analgesic responses. The purpose of this review is to examine the literature on sex differences in analgesic responses, emphasizing findings from experimental studies.MethodsFirst, important methodological issues in laboratory pain research are presented, and sex differences in responses to experimentally-induced pain are briefly addressed. Next, previous data from non-human animal research and human experimental and clinical research related to sex differences in analgesia are discussed. Also, preliminary results are presented from an ongoing study in our laboratory examining analgesic responses in women and men.Results And ConclusionsBoth previous research and preliminary findings from our laboratory suggests that opioids produce greater analgesic responses in women than men. Potential mechanisms underlying sex differences in analgesia are proposed, and important directions for future research are suggested.

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