Differential Effect of Patient Weight on Pain-Related Judgements About Male and Female Chronic Low Back Pain Patients

Abstract

Compared to men, women report more pain and are at increased risk for having pain discounted or misattributed to psychological causes. Overweight individuals experience high rates of pain and may receive suboptimal care due to provider bias. Research suggests the social consequences of being overweight are worse for women than men, and that gender and weight uniquely and interactively impact pain experience and care. Healthy participants (N=616) viewed six videos of back pain patients (1 female and 1 male of normal-weight, overweight, and obese categories) performing a functional task. Participants provided judgments/ratings regarding patient pain (intensity, interference, exaggeration), potential sources of patient pain (medical, psychological), and treatment recommendations (opioids, psychological therapy, seek workplace accommodations). Results suggest that the pain of normal and overweight women and obese men was discounted (judged as less intense, less interfering, more exaggerated, and less attributable to medical factors) and judged as less in need of treatment (treated with less opioids and workplace accommodations). Across all weight categories, women's pain was attributed more to psychological factors and was more likely to receive recommendations for psychological therapy than men's pain. These findings highlight the differential impact of patient weight on painrelated judgments about women and men.Keywords: obesity, weight, gender, chronic low back pain, pain assessment, pain treatment Perspective: This article examines the relationships among patient weight, patient gender, and observers' pain appraisals and treatment recommendations. These findings highlight the differential impact of patient weight on pain-related judgments about women and men and indicate the need for research to determine how these judgments affect treatment decisions in clinical settings.

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