Objective:

To describe the sociodemographic, clinical and therapeutic characteristics of people with chronic non-oncologic pain, according to sex.

Patients and method:

Cross-sectional study in the Pain Unit of the Complejo Asistencial Universitario de Salamanca between March and September 2020. Consecutive sampling was performed, obtaining 105 patients. Data were extracted from the medical records (HHCC) for clinical variables and an ad hoc questionnaire for demographic and socioeconomic variables. A descriptive analysis of the variables was performed according to sex.

Results:

Most of the patients with chronic pain were women (61.9 %) aged 56 years, Spanish, living in Salamanca and with a partner. Their level of education is medium/low and they are unemployed (p = 0.007). They are not the main economic providers of the family nucleus (p < 0.00) and their income is less than 950 euros per month (p = 0.001). They own a house and live with other people. Their main activity is domestic or care work (p = 0.008). They suffer from chronic secondary musculoskeletal pain associated with structural alterations, with non-specific chronic low back pain as the most frequent diagnosis. They have more concomitant pathologies than men, with HT being the most frequent, and psychiatric disorders more prevalent in them. They are treated with analgesics and peripheral nerve blocks, responding favorably.

Conclusion:

Identifying the higher frequency of women, with their specific sociodemographic and clinical context, reflects the need to address sex and gender roles and thus take them into account when assessing how both influence the experience of chronic pain and how to carry out the care and management of our patients.

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