Lean Mass is Associated with, but Does Not Mediate Sex Differences in Pressure Pain Sensitivity in Healthy Adults

Sex differences exist in pain sensitivity, however, the underlying mechanism(s) that explain these differences are not fully understood. Pain sensitivity has been shown to be influenced by body mass index, but limited data exist on the role of body composition on pain sensitivity. The purpose was to examine the influence of body composition on pain sensitivity in males and females.

This cross-sectional study design used pressure pain thresholds (PPT) of 87 participants (45 female) who were assessed in the vastus lateralis (leg PPT) and brachioradialis (arm PPT) using a pressure algometer. Fat and lean tissue were assessed via dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). A two group by two limb, repeated measured ANOVA was used to assess differences between limbs and sex. Spearman correlations and hierarchical regression analyses were employed to determine the association between body composition and PPT.

Males had higher PPTs then females (P<0.05) and had higher DXA assessed lean and lower levels fat mass (P<0.05). Total body and limb specific lean mass was associated with PPTs (r≥0.34; P<0.05). Hierarchical regression analysis revealed lean mass was a significant predictor of 8% of the variance in arm PPT (P<0.006) and 18% of the variance in leg PPT (P<0.001). However, lean mass was not found to statistically mediate the observed sex differences in PPT.

This finding suggests lean mass may play a previously unknown role in sex differences in pressure pain sensitivity. Future studies are needed to confirm this finding and a larger sample size is likely required to have sufficient power to perform the mediation analysis.