@article {3181796,
	title = {Sex Bias in Pain Management Decisions},
	journal = {PNAS},
	volume = {121},
	year = {2024},
	pages = {e2401331121},
	abstract = {In the pursuit of mental and physical health, effective pain management stands as a cornerstone. Here, we examine a potential sex bias in pain management.<!--break--> Leveraging insights from psychological research showing that females{\textquoteright} pain is stereotypically judged as less intense than males{\textquoteright} pain, we hypothesize that there may be tangible differences in pain management decisions based on patients{\textquoteright} sex. Our investigation spans emergency department (ED) datasets from two countries, including discharge notes of patients arriving with pain complaints (N = 21,851). Across these datasets, a consistent sex disparity emerges. Female patients are less likely to be prescribed pain-relief medications compared to males, and this disparity persists even after adjusting for patients{\textquoteright} reported pain scores and numerous patient, physician, and ED variables. This disparity extends across medical practitioners, with both male and female physicians prescribing less pain-relief medications to females than to males. Additional analyses reveal that female patients{\textquoteright} pain scores are 10\% less likely to be recorded by nurses, and female patients spend an additional 30 min in the ED compared to male patients. A controlled experiment employing clinical vignettes reinforces our hypothesis, showing that nurses (N = 109) judge pain of female patients to be less intense than that of males. We argue that the findings reflect an undertreatment of female patients{\textquoteright} pain. We discuss the troubling societal and medical implications of females{\textquoteright} pain being overlooked and call for policy interventions to ensure equal pain treatment.},
	url = {https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2401331121},
	author = {Guzikevits, M and Gordon- Hecker ,T and Rekhtman ,D and Salameh ,S and Perry ,A and Gileles-Hillel ,A.* and Choshen-Hillel ,S.* and Shayo,M and Israel ,S and Gozal, D}
}
