Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34902057›Full record

ArticleClinical oral investigations2022

The impact of gender of the examiner on orofacial pain perception and pain reporting among healthy volunteers.

A Lövgren, B Häggman-Henrikson, A Fjellman-Wiklund, A Begic, H Landgren, V Lundén, P Svensson, C Österlund

Open access · hybridAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Clinical oral investigations, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.2field-weighted citation impact, top 21% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

9 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 10 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Review
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

A LövgrenFaculty of Medicine, Department of Odontology, Clinical Oral Physiology, Umeå University, 901 87, Umeå, Sweden. anna.lovgren@umu.se.
B Häggman-HenriksonFaculty of Medicine, Department of Odontology, Clinical Oral Physiology, Umeå University, 901 87, Umeå, Sweden.
A Fjellman-WiklundDepartment of Community Medicine and Rehabilitation, Physiotherapy, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
A BegicFaculty of Medicine, Department of Odontology, Clinical Oral Physiology, Umeå University, 901 87, Umeå, Sweden.
H LandgrenFaculty of Medicine, Department of Odontology, Clinical Oral Physiology, Umeå University, 901 87, Umeå, Sweden.
V LundénFaculty of Medicine, Department of Odontology, Clinical Oral Physiology, Umeå University, 901 87, Umeå, Sweden.
P SvenssonDepartment of Orofacial Pain and Jaw Function, Faculty of Odontology, Malmö University, Malmö, Sweden.
C ÖsterlundFaculty of Medicine, Department of Odontology, Clinical Oral Physiology, Umeå University, 901 87, Umeå, Sweden.
Umeå University · SEAarhus University · DK

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesPain on palpation of jaw muscles is a commonly used diagnostic criterion when examining patients with orofacial pain. It is not known, however, if pain reports are affected by the gender of the examiner. Our aim was to investigate if pressure pain threshold (PPT), pressure pain tolerance (PTol), and pain intensity assessed over the masseter muscles in healthy individuals are affected by the gender of the examiner. MATERIALS AND

methodsHealthy, pain-free individuals were recruited on a voluntary basis. PPT and PTol were assessed using pressure algometry. At the PTol level, participants also rated pain intensity on a 0-10 numeric rating scale. Assessments of PPT and PTol were conducted with six repeated measurements performed twice, separately by one female and one male examiner, on each participant.

resultsIn total, 84 participants (43 women; median age 24, IQR 6) were included. With a female examiner, women reported higher pain intensity than men (Mann Whitney U, p = 0.005). In the multivariable analysis, significantly higher PTol was predicted by male examiner. Also, a higher ratio between PTol and reported pain intensity was predicted by male examiner.

conclusionsThe gender of the examiner influences pain reporting and perception in an experimental setting. This effect on pain perception related to gender of the examiner is probably related to normative gender behaviors rather than to biological alterations within the examined individual. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: In clinical and experimental settings, gender of the examiner may affect not only pain perception but also pain reporting, with potential implications for diagnostics in patients with pain.

Indexed as

Pain PerceptionPain ThresholdAdultFacial PainFemaleHealthy VolunteersHumansMalePain MeasurementYoung AdultExperimental painGender rolesOrofacial painPain perceptionPain reportingPressure pain

Identifiers

PMID34902057
PMCPMC8898225
OpenAlexW4200201319

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.