National Pain Institute

Pain does not increase linearly with age; rather, the most pronounced increases occur before the age of 55. This is the main conclusion of a study published in the journal Nature Medicine, which included Spanish participation and analyzed data from more than six million people aged five to over 100 in 118 countries. Across all areas of the body, the prevalence of pain increased most sharply before age 55. Headaches and abdominal pain peaked at an earlier age, while back, hip, and knee pain continued to increase with age.

Women, particularly younger women, are disproportionately affected by painful conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome, endometriosis, menstrual migraines, fibromyalgia, osteoarthritis and neuropathic pain. A review published in Science summarises the latest advances in visceral and somatic pain, highlighting the impact of sex hormones, immunoneural interaction, the gut microbiota and endogenous analgesic circuits. These studies are beginning to explain why women experience more intense pain than men, paving the way for mechanism-based precision therapies. “Women are desperately hoping for concrete answers that can help dispel the common notion that ‘it’s all in your head’ when it comes to their conditions,” the authors note. The research forms part of a Science special issue on women’s health, which includes four further articles.