A comprehensive global study involving more than six million participants from 118 countries has found that women report experiencing higher levels of pain than men across multiple types and locations in the body. The research, which examined data spanning from 1990 to 2025 and included individuals aged five to over 100 years old, highlights a persistent gender disparity in pain prevalence and severity worldwide.

Published in Nature Medicine, the study assessed self-reported pain across 11 bodily sites and revealed that women consistently reported greater pain than men. The disparity was most pronounced for headaches, facial pain, and abdominal pain. Both men and women experienced the steepest increases in pain before age 55, with levels peaking around age 75 or later. Common conditions such as back, hip, and knee pain were found to increase steadily throughout the lifespan. Approximately 40% of participants reported back pain, while facial pain was the least common, affecting about 2%.

Geographic and socioeconomic factors also played a role in pain prevalence. Regions with lower Human Development Index scores showed substantially higher rates of bodily pain among older adults, with nearly twice the incidence of low back pain compared to higher-index regions. High-intensity pain generally peaked around age 50, whereas generalized pain reached its highest levels at around age 70.

Professor Rebeccah Slater of the University of Oxford, one of the study's lead authors, pointed out a concerning paradox: despite women experiencing more pain, their symptoms are more likely to be dismissed, diagnosed late, or inadequately treated. She emphasized that the findings underscore a consistent, worldwide pattern of greater pain burden among women, spanning diverse populations and bodily sites.

This extensive analysis contributes to ongoing discussions about the gender pain gap and its implications for medical treatment, highlighting the need for improved recognition and management of pain, particularly among women.