(161) Enhanced Suprathreshold Heat Pain Sensitivity in Healthy Hispanic Relative to Non-Hispanic White Adults: A Preliminary Examination

Abstract

While clinical pain studies in the U.S. have established that Hispanic Americans experience greater levels of pain and pain-related impairments compared to Non-Hispanic White Americans, the components of pain contributing to these disparities remain unclear. Although a number of previous studies have examined the pain sensitivity to standardized laboratory pain protocols in African Americans relative to Non-Hispanic White Americans, little work has extended to other ethnic groups, including Hispanic Americans. Therefore, to examine the role of ethnicity on pain sensitivity, the present study evaluated the effect of ethnicity in healthy Hispanic American and Non-Hispanic White American adults on self-report pain intensity to thermal-heat laboratory pain. Healthy Hispanic (n\u202f=\u202f43, n female\u202f=\u202f28) and Non-Hispanic White (n\u202f=\u202f26, n female\u202f=\u202f10) volunteers recruited through a psychology subject pool completed an ascending thermal-heat laboratory pain assessment comprised of four heat pulses at low (41°C), medium (44°C), and high (47°C) heat. After each pulse, participants verbally rated their pain intensity on a 0 to 10 numerical rating scale. A three-way mixed ethnicity X gender X temperature rating repeated measures ANOVA was conducted to reveal a statistically significant two-way interaction between temperature rating and ethnicity, F(1.833, 119.113)\u202f=\u202f5.525, p\u202f=\u202f.006, partial η2\u202f=\u202f.078. Given the small sample size, follow-up ANOVA comparisons revealed no differences in pain intensity ratings at the low and medium temperatures (p s > .16). However, at the high temperature, self-reported pain intensity was greater for Hispanics (M\u202f=\u202f6.13, SD\u202f=\u202f1.86) relative to Non-Hispanic Whites (M\u202f=\u202f5.17, SD\u202f=\u202f1.89), F(1, 67)\u202f=\u202f4.252, p\u202f=\u202f.043, partial η2\u202f=\u202f.060. Consistent with previous studies of laboratory pain disparities in ethnic minorities, these preliminary findings suggest that greater sensitivity to suprathreshold pain in Hispanics may contribute to disparities evidenced in Hispanic clinical pain.