Effect of sex and gender on drug-seeking behavior during invasive medical procedures1

Cancer and Breakthrough Pain's Impact on a Diverse Population

“…Meghani and Keane noted several reasons for ethnic differences in medication use for treating cancer pain, including analgesic side effects, meaning attributed to pain, and fears of dependency [44]. Such differences may exist by gender and appear to differ by pain cause [45–47]. Thus, when considering cancer pain, future longitudinal studies should examine BTP in a late‐stage cancer population while specifically addressing patient preferences and attitudes in both reporting and seeking pain care.…”

Sex and gender differences in pain: a selective review of biological and psychosocial factors

“…For example, in an unpublished study we have found that women report much greater use of family and social support networks immediately following a pain management intervention, although this disappeared when assessed 3 months later. Experimental pain induction studies have manipulated coping instructions to see if they have a differential effect on men and women [59][60][61][62]. For example, one study found that when instructed to focus on cold pressor pain, men benefited and reported less sensory pain; this effect was not found in women [59].…”

“…For example, one study examined the effect of having an empathic supporter on patient's experiences of an invasive medical procedure [62]. Men consumed less medication in the presence of a supporter, whereas women reported less pain and anxiety.…”