A recent study conducted by the Hospital del Mar and its Research Institute has shed light on a concerning gender disparity in the field of post-surgical pain. The research, published in the prestigious Journal of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Anesthesia, focused on a total of 233 patients who had undergone a thoracotomy, an invasive procedure that requires the separation of ribs to access the lungs. Of these patients, 96 were women and 137 were men.
The results of the study, carried out between 2017 and 2019 in various hospitals in Spain, indicate that 53% of women developed chronic pain after the operation, compared to 38% of men. The researchers have ruled out that these differences are linked to genetic or hormonal factors. Instead, they highlight that the physical and emotional state of the patients before the operation is crucial. Women, in general, faced the surgery with a higher depressive component and a lower quality of life.
Dr. Antonio Montes, who leads the Pain Unit at Hospital del Mar, pointed out that the initial state of women crucially influences the evolution of pain after surgery. “Women experience more pain before the intervention and have more distrust of the results. However, when they develop chronic pain, they seem to manage it better than men,” Montes commented.
Follow-up of the participants four months after surgery revealed not only pain levels, but also the impact on patients’ quality of life. Interestingly, although both genders suffer physically from chronic pain, the mental component showed an improvement in women, while in men it led to a worsening.
This study highlights the need to consider psychological factors as an integral part of surgical interventions. Experts advocate for the creation of specialized units that prevent the transition from acute to chronic pain, using psychological treatments to reduce the impact of postoperative pain. This is especially relevant given the increase in thoracotomies performed on women, linked to an increase in smoking-related lung diseases.
In addition, the team at Hospital del Mar has developed methods to predict the risk of chronic pain in certain surgeries, which could be crucial for improving clinical approaches in the future. Institutions in Catalonia, Madrid, and Valencia collaborated in this study in a joint effort to better understand gender differences in post-surgical pain.
Source: MiMub in Spanish
