Common myth proven wrong in new scientific investigation

Jan 25, 2012 15:41 GMT  ·  By

Every woman I've ever met always cited some studies saying that women tend to be more resilient to pain. Well, this new research from experts at the Stanford University School of Medicine proves that claim to be false.

In nearly all disease categories, women reported experiencing more intense pain than men did. Before someone posts a comment about this being a small study, it's actually one of the largest surveys on the issue, covering data from roughly 72,000 participants.

For those interested, additional details of the methodology the team used in its study are found in the January 23 issue of the medical Journal of Pain.

“We focused on pain intensity, whereas most previous studies have looked at prevalence: the percentage of men vs. women with a particular clinical problem who are in pain,” senior study author Atul Butte, MD, PhD, explains.