B Mechlin

Beth Mechlin

KL Edinger

M. Pfleeger

R.B. Fillingim

Susan Girdler

Annals of General Psychiatry

English

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BioMed Central
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Annals of General Psychiatry
Open AccessPoster presentation
Ethnicity, steroid hormones, and pain perception
Beth Mechlin*1,2 and Susan Girdler2
Address: 1Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA and 2Department of Psychiatry, University 
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
* Corresponding author    
Background
The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship
of steroid hormones to pain sensitivity in African Ameri-
cans (AAs) and non-Hispanic Whites (nHWs).
Materials and methods
Ninety-one medically healthy men (24 AAs, 21 nHWs)
and women in the late follicular phase of their menstrual
cycles (26 AAs, 20 nHWs) were tested for voluntary
threshold and tolerance to ischemic (IS), thermal heat
(TH), and cold pressor (CP) pain. Blood was sampled
after a rest period for serum testosterone and progesterone
(females).
Results
In nHW men testosterone was directly related to IS thresh-
old and TH tolerance (rs = +.61 and +.56, ps <.05). In
nHW women testosterone was inversely related to IS
threshold (r = −.45, p <.05). In nHW women progesterone
was also inversely associated with IS tolerance and TH
threshold and tolerance (rs = −.44 to −.56, ps <.05), and
IS threshold (r = −.41, p <.06). There were no relation-
ships between pain sensitivity and testosterone or proges-
terone in AAs.
Conclusions
This is the first study in humans to document a relation-
ship between testosterone and pain sensitivity, which may
be mediated by neuroactive metabolites of testosterone
[1]. The relationship between progesterone and pain sen-
sitivity in nHW women may explain findings on men-
strual cycle and pain sensitivity [2,3], and also fits with
our previous report that increased allopregnanalone, a
neuroactive metabolite of progesterone, is associated with
increased pain sensitivity [4]. The results suggest ethnic
and gender differences in putative steroid hormone regu-
lation of pain perception.
References
1. Edinger KL, Frye CA: Testosterone's anti-anxiety and analgesic
effects may be due in part to actions of its 5α-reduced
metabolites in the hippocampus.  Psychoneuroendocrinology 2005,
30:418-430.
2. Fillingim R.B., Maixner W., Girdler S.S., Light K.C., Harris B.M., Sheps
D.S., Mason G.A: Ischemic but not thermal pain sensitivity var-
ies across the menstrual cycle.  Psychosomatic Medicine 1997,
59(5):512-520.
3. Pfleeger M., Straneva P.A., Fillingim R.B., Maixner W., Girdler S.S.:
Menstrual cycle, blood pressure and ischemic pain sensitivity
in women: a preliminary investigation.  International Journal of
Psychophysiology 1997, 27:161-166.
4. Mechlin B, Morrow AL, Maixner W, Girdler SS: The Relationship
of Allopregnanolone Immunoreactivity and HPA-Axis Meas-
ures to Experimental Pain Sensitivity: Evidence for Ethnic
Differences.  Pain 2007, 131:142-152.
from International Society on Brain and Behaviour: 3rd International Congress on Brain and Behaviour
Thessaloniki, Greece. 28 November – 2 December 2007
Published: 17 April 2008
Annals of General Psychiatry 2008, 7(Suppl 1):S260 doi:10.1186/1744-859X-7-S1-S260
<supplement> <title> <p>International Society on Brain and Behaviour: 3rd International Congress on Brain and Behaviour</p> </title> <note>Meeting abstracts - A single PDF containing all abstracts in this Supplement is available <a href="http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/files/pdf/1744-859X-7-S1-full.pdf">here</a>.</note> </supplement>
This abstract is available from: http://www.annals-general-psychiatry.com/content/7/S1/S260
© 2008 Mechlin and Girdler; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 


Ethnicity, steroid hormones, and pain perception

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Ethnicity, steroid hormones, and pain perception

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