Methodological approaches for best practice study of sex and gender differences in chronic pain: Consensus recommendations and a roadmap for research
Abstract
Females experience pain more frequently and more severely across the lifespan when compared with males, and males and females exhibit differential responses to pain treatment.?Yet, pre-clinical and clinical research often does not take sex or gender differences into account and there is a lack of consensus about how to carry out research to take account of these differences. This interdisciplinary Networking Group brings together a team of 30 international leading research experts, early career researchers and patient advocates from 22 institutions across 8 countries, to discuss experimental design and methodological approaches to studying sex and gender differences in chronic pain research. The Networking Group will (a) identify areas of methodological consensus and best practice (b) identify gaps in methodological knowledge and (c) set out a research road map and priority areas for further investigation to help guide this field of research. The findings of the Networking Group will be widely disseminated to ensure chronic pain researchers are fully aware of the methodological framework and recommendations for studying sex and gender differences, and their relative application, in preclinical and clinical settings. Adoption and implementation of these recommendations will reduce variability and lack of reproducibility between laboratories and clinical settings, improve the translatability of research findings, leading to better outcomes for people living with chronic pain.
Keywords
Chronic Pain; Sex; Difference; Gender; Research; Methods
Call topic
Networking Chronic Pain
Proposed runtime
2023 - 2024
Project team
Michelle Roche (Coordinator)
Ireland (HRB, )
Brona Fullen
Ireland
Siobhain O'Mahony
Ireland
Kieran O'Sullivan
Ireland
Ipek Yalcin
France
Herta Flor
Germany
Rohini Kuner
Germany
Miriam Kunz
Germany
Stefan Lautenbacher
Germany
Edmund Keogh
UK
Kevin Vowles
United Kingdom
Suellen Walker
UK
Katelynn Boerner
Canada
Salter Michael
Canada
Karen Davis
Canada
Jeffrey Mogil
Canada
Yves De Koninck
Canada
Ruth Defrin
Israel
Kathleen Sluka
USA
Emeran Mayer
USA
Hemakumar Devan
New Zealand
Louise Riordan
Ireland