Study explains why women experience longer-lasting chronic pain
Researchers uncover a biological pathway linking immune cells and hormones, shedding light on why women often experience prolonged chronic pain
 "Study explains why women experience longer-lasting chronic pain")
Chronic pain is an invisible burden that affects millions of people worldwide, yet women disproportionately carry this load for far longer than men. For decades, some have dismissed these experiences as psychological or subjective, yet a major new study has finally uncovered a biological explanation.
Published in the journal Science Immunology under the title 'Monocyte-derived IL-10 drives sex differences in pain duration', researchers have pinpointed a key immune mechanism that helps explain why women’s pain often outlasts that of men.
This research not only validates countless patient experiences but also points towards future treatments that may finally offer targeted relief for chronic pain sufferers.
Understanding chronic pain
Chronic pain is defined as pain that persists for more than three months beyond the initial injury or illness, and it can significantly reduce quality of life. Unlike acute pain, which signals harm and usually subsides after healing, chronic pain persists even when tissues have healed, often affecting the back, joints, nerves and muscles.
Women report chronic pain more often and for longer durations than men, and they account for 60 to 70 per cent of those affected, experts say. Although sociocultural explanations have long been suggested, this persistent gap has lacked a clear physiological basis until now.
"The pain of women has been overlooked in clinical practice," lead author Geoffroy Laumet, associate professor of physiology at Michigan State University, told AFP, "with the idea that it's more in the mind, or that it's because women are softer and more emotional". "But here, our study shows that the difference is real; it's not a social construct. It has a real biological mechanism that is behind it," he said.
What the new study found
The research team investigated how the immune system interacts with pain pathways in both males and females. They focused on a type of white blood cell known as a monocyte, which helps regulate inflammation and immune responses.
Key findings include:
- Certain monocytes produce interleukin-10 (IL-10), a molecule that acts as an “off-switch” to calm pain-sensing neurons
- In males, these monocytes are more active because they are stimulated by higher levels of testosterone
- In females, monocytes are less active and produce lower levels of IL-10, which slows the body’s ability to silence pain signals
The study showed this pattern across both mouse models and human patients, confirming it isn’t limited to laboratory conditions.
The findings reflect that pain resolution is an active immune process, not just a passive fading over time. When that immune-driven “off-switch” works less efficiently, pain lingers longer.
Redefining how we understand pain in women
Shifting the narrative from perception to physiology
For too long, many women reporting long-term pain have been met with scepticism or misattribution to stress, emotion or perception. This study demonstrates that the longer duration of chronic pain in women has a biological basis rooted in immune-hormone interactions, not imagination or exaggeration.
Hormonal influence on immune signalling
Testosterone appears to enhance IL-10-producing monocytes, providing men with a more robust mechanism to switch off pain. As women generally have lower testosterone levels, their monocytes produce less IL-10, leading to slower or weaker pain resolution.
This finding does not suggest one gender feels more pain; it shows that the biological process that ends pain works differently depending on how hormones interact with the immune system.
"I hope that we can contribute to erasing this common idea that women's pain is exaggerated," Laumet said. "The standard of care should be adapted to the sex."
What this means for treatment
Although the research is still early, the implications are exciting and significant:
- Targeted therapies: Knowing that IL-10-mediated immune signalling helps resolve pain could guide the development of treatments that boost this pathway, especially for women
- Non-opioid options: Strategies that enhance the body’s own pain-dampening mechanisms may reduce reliance on opioids, which often carry serious side effects
- Personalised medicine: Future therapies could be tailored based on sex-specific biology, ensuring more equitable and effective care
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This report is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice.