Gender differences in pain and depressive tendency among Chinese elders with knee osteoarthritis

The purpose of this study was to explore gender differences in pain experiences, pain control beliefs, pain coping strategies, and depressive tendency among Chinese elderly with knee osteoarthritis (OA). Participants (N=199) were drawn from a previous convenience sample of outpatients with OA in Taiwan. Results indicated female elders tended to report higher scores on least pain, current pain and overall pain intensity than male elders (all p<0.01). Female elders also reported significantly greater pain disturbance than males across each item and for the overall score, except for walking. Males and females did not differ significantly in scores for pain control beliefs or for either pharmacological or non-pharmacological coping strategies. In addition, female elders tended to have greater depressive tendency than males. Results of regression analyses suggest that depressive tendency was a mediator of gender in predicting overall pain intensity and pain disturbance. In summary, this sample of elders showed gender differences in depressive tendency and some pain experiences but not in pain control beliefs and coping strategies. These results suggest that health care providers should be cautious about using gender differences to explain pain experiences among Chinese elders. In addition, health care providers may decrease these female patients' pain intensity and pain disturbance by treating depressive symptoms.