Abstract
Multiple studies in healthy populations and clinical samples have shown that ethnic minorities have greater pain sensitivity than their majority counterparts. Acculturation is speculated to be one of the sociocultural factors contributing to pain sensitivity since cultural beliefs and practices can influence the way patients perceive and respond to pain. However, the relationship of acculturation to pain sensitivity in minority populations remains poorly understood. Therefore, in this cross-sectional study, we examined the relationship between acculturation and experimental pain sensitivity in 50 Asian Americans residing in North Central Florida with knee osteoarthritis pain. The Suinn-Lew Asian Self Identity Acculturation Scale was used to assess acculturation, and multimodal quantitative sensory testing was performed to measure experimental sensitivity, including heat pain tolerance, pressure pain threshold, and punctate mechanical pain. Descriptive and regression analyses were performed. Participants' mean age was 55.7 years, and about half of this sample were Korean American (56%). The participants had lived in the United States for 21 years on average. Regression analyses indicated that lower acculturation to American culture may contribute to greater experimental pain sensitivity. Asian Americans who were more acculturated to the American culture had higher heat pain tolerance (beta = 0.61, P=0.01), higher pressure pain threshold (beta = 0.59, P=0.02), and lower ratings of punctate mechanical pain (beta = −0.70, P < 0.01). These findings add to the literature regarding sociocultural factors associated with pain in Asian Americans; additional research with a larger and more diverse sample of Asian Americans is warranted for cross-validation.
Highlights
Chronic pain affects 100 million people in the United States and produces annual costs of up to $635 billion [1, 2]
Fifty Asian Americans aged 45 to 85 with symptomatic knee OA pain were recruited in North Central Florida via posted fliers and an e-mail advertisement sent to Asian community LISTSERVS. e individuals were provided information about the study, and interested candidates underwent screening for eligibility
In this study to identify the relationship between acculturation and experimental pain sensitivity among Asian Americans, the fastest growing ethnic group in the United States [6], we found that participants with higher acculturation to American culture had lower experimental pain sensitivity
Summary
Chronic pain affects 100 million people in the United States and produces annual costs of up to $635 billion [1, 2]. Arthritis is one of the leading causes of pain, impairments of activities in daily life, and disability in people aged 45 and above [3, 4]. Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common of the arthritic conditions [4,5,6], and racial/ethnic group differences in knee OA prevalence and its adverse effects have been widely documented [7]. Some evidence shows that the prevalence of knee OA is higher by 16–75% in Asian females than age-matched White females [7,8,9]. Despite several studies demonstrating ethnic differences in pain [10, 11], little research has examined pain experiences in Asians Americans.
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