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The following is a summary of “Pressure and cold pain threshold reference values in a pain-free older adult population,” published in the October 2024 issue of Pain by Waller et al. 

Researchers conducted a retrospective study to establish sex- and age-specific normative values in older adults free from pain with pressure and cold pain thresholds and to investigate the relationship between these thresholds and potential correlates of pain sensitivity.  

They examined 212 older adults aged 41–70 from the Raine Study Gen1-26-year follow-up to investigate sex-specific pressure (lumbar spine, tibialis anterior, neck, and dorsal wrist) and cold (dorsal wrist) pain threshold assessments. The relationship of pain thresholds with sex, test site, ethnicity, waist-hip ratio, smoking status, health-related quality of life (HRQoL), depression, anxiety and stress symptoms, sleep quality, socioeconomic status (SES), and physical activity levels were also assessed.   

The results showed that adults’ free from pain with pressure and cold pain thresholds were grouped by vicennium, sex, and test site (pressure). Statistically substantial independent correlates of raised pressure pain sensitivity were test site, ethnicity (e.g., Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people), and sex (e.g., women). Only a lower waist-hip ratio was a statistically substantial, independent correlate of increased cold pain sensitivity.   

They concluded that the study provided vigorous sex- and age-specific normative values in an adult population free from pain with pressure and cold pain threshold, which, combined with existing values, can assist in interpreting pain sensitivity and provide insights into the complex association of pain sensitivity. 

Source: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/20494637241276104