The normative values of pain thresholds in healthy Taiwanese

Objective Quantitative sensory testing is widely used in clinical and research settings to assess the sensory functions of healthy subjects and patients. It is of importance to establish normative values in a healthy population to provide reference for studies involving patients. Given the absence o...

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Published in:	Brain and behavior 2024-04, Vol.14 (4), p.e3485-n/a
Main Authors:	Pan, Li‐Ling Hope, Ling, Yu‐Hsiang, Lai, Kuan‐Lin, Wang, Yen‐Feng, Hsiao, Fu‐Jung, Chen, Shih‐Pin, Liu, Hung‐Yu, Chen, Wei‐Ta, Wang, Shuu‐Jiun
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	Adult Asian people Body mass index Cold cold pain threshold Eastern Asian Female Females healthy adult Healthy Volunteers Heat heat pain threshold Humans Male mechanical punctate pain threshold Migraine Neurological disorders Original Pain Pain Measurement - methods Pain Measurement - standards Pain Threshold - physiology Population pressure pain threshold Reference Values Sex Factors Taiwan Young Adult
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Summary:	Objective Quantitative sensory testing is widely used in clinical and research settings to assess the sensory functions of healthy subjects and patients. It is of importance to establish normative values in a healthy population to provide reference for studies involving patients. Given the absence of normative values for pain thresholds in Taiwan, the aim of this study was to report the normative values for future reference in the Taiwanese population and compare the differences between male and female participants. Methods Healthy adults without any chronic or acute pain condition were recruited. The pain thresholds were assessed over the cephalic (supraorbital area and masseter muscle) and extracephalic (medio‐volar forearm and thenar eminence) areas. The heat, cold, mechanical punctate, and pressure pain thresholds were measured with a standardized protocol. Comparisons between male and female participants were performed. Results One hundred and thirty healthy participants (55 males: 30.4 ± 7.4 years; 75 females: 30.5 ± 8.1 years) finished the assessments. Male participants were less sensitive to mechanical stimuli, including pressure over masseter muscle (male vs. female: 178.5 ± 56.7 vs. 156.6 ± 58.4 kPa, p = .034) and punctate over medio‐volar forearm (male vs. female: 116.4 ± 45.2 vs. 98.7 ± 65.4 g, p = .011), compared to female participants. However, female participants were less sensitive to cold stimuli, indicated by lower cold pain thresholds over the supraorbital area (male vs. female: 18.6 ± 8.4 vs. 13.6 ± 9.3°C, p = .004), compared to male participants. No significant differences were found between sexes in other pain threshold parameters. Conclusions We provided the normative values of healthy male and female adults in Taiwan. This information is crucial for comparison in future pain‐related studies to identify potential hypoalgesia or hyperalgesia of tested subjects. This is the first study that reports the normative values of pain thresholds following a standardized protocol of quantitative sensory testings among a large healthy cohort without any pain conditions in East Asia. These results are crucial as a comparison for future pain‐related research.
ISSN:	2162-3279 2162-3279