The Role of Sex Hormones in Pain-Related Conditions.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Narrative review describing biochemical mechanisms without systematic methodology or primary human data
PubMed 36768188 · doi:10.3390/ijms24031866
What was done
This narrative review synthesized literature on how sex hormones and hormone replacement therapy influence biochemical pathways of pain perception, focusing on transgender patients with co-occurring pain conditions such as headaches, fibromyalgia, temporomandibular myalgia, and visceral pain.
What was found
The abstract reports no numerical data, statistics, or effect sizes. It qualitatively notes that high testosterone levels are associated with increased pain thresholds in biological males, while estrogen fluctuations are associated with increased pain intensity and perception in biological females.
Why it matters
Clarifying the biochemical pathways by which sex hormones alter pain perception highlights mechanisms underlying sex disparities in chronic pain and frames hormone replacement therapy as a model for studying pain modulation.
Limits
This is a narrative review providing no primary clinical trial data, systematic search criteria, or quantitative findings. Specific sample sizes and biochemical effect magnitudes are not reported in the abstract.
Cited by
- supports Fluctuations in estrogen levels exacerbate pain perception.