Evaluation of Cold Pressor Pain Response and Pain Catastrophization in a Healthy Nigerian Adult Population

Abstract

Background: Inter-individual variability in pain perception is an area of research interest to scientists due to its complexity and compounding nature. Dispositional characteristics have been known to influence pain response, a difference attributed to bio-psycho-social factors. In this study, differences in experimental cold pressor pain response and pain catastrophizing were evaluated among healthy adult population in Zaria, Nigeria. Methodology: A total of 161 apparently healthy subjects volunteered for the study. Cold pressor pain was induced by asking subjects to immerse their non-dominant hand in cold water at 2 4 0C. Cut off time was 5 minutes. Pain catastrophizing was assessed using the visual analogue scale. Result: There was no significant effect of sex, age and ethnicity on cold pressor pain threshold and tolerance among the studied population, but females catastrophized more than males. Conclusion: Sex, age and ethnicity have no effects on cold pressor pain response among healthy adults in Zaria, Nigeria, but pain catastrophizing is higher in females than in males.