Sex-specific genetics underlie increased chronic pain risk in women: genome-wide association studies from the UK Biobank
Authors' conclusion
Our findings suggest that genetics play a crucial role in the increased risk of chronic pain observed in women.
Study context
- Population
- UK Biobank participants; multisite chronic pain
- Comparison
- Women vs men
- Outcome
- Sex-specific genetic loci for multisite chronic pain
Methodological detailssex-stratified, heritability partitioning, UK Biobank
- Sex-stratified
- Heritability partitioning
- UK Biobank
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Sex-specific causal loci for overlapping pains
- Women have ≈4500 sex-specific causal loci, four times more than men, accounting for their higher heritability
Further findings
| Outcome | Women | Men |
|---|---|---|
| Imaging-derived brain phenotypes associated with pain | 200 phenotypes | six phenotypes |
Heritability partitioning
- Pain-related loci primarily enriched in specific brain regions, only in women
Genetic correlation of brain phenotypes with pain
- Stronger genetic correlations with pain in women, particularly cortical thickness and striatal volume
Causal inference, brain- vs pain-related traits
- Genetics of brain phenotypes more often causally implicated with chronic pain in women
Original publication
Sex-specific genetics underlie increased chronic pain risk in women: genome-wide association studies from the UK Biobank. Br J Anaesth. Published 22 May 2025. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →