Study links abdominal fat to widespread chronic pain in women

Chronic pain is a condition where pain persists beyond the immediate healing period following an injury or trauma.

• Pramod Thomas
• 11 September, 2024

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By: Pramod Thomas

EXCESS fat around the abdomen is associated with a higher likelihood of experiencing widespread chronic pain, particularly in women, according to a study.

The study, involving over 32,000 participants from the UK Biobank dataset, found that women with fat surrounding their abdominal organs, known as ‘visceral adipose tissue’, were twice as likely to experience chronic pain in multiple areas of their body. Approximately half of the participants were women, with an average age of 55 years.

Chronic pain is a condition where pain persists beyond the immediate healing period following an injury or trauma. It can sometimes be widespread, affecting more than one part of the body. The researchers, including those from the University of Tasmania, Australia, also found that women with higher levels of ‘subcutaneous adipose tissue’—the fat located just under the skin that can be pinched—had a 60 per cent increased likelihood of experiencing widespread chronic pain. The findings were published in the journal Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine.

While it is known that excess fat associated with obesity is linked to pain in the muscles and bones, the relationship between excess visceral and subcutaneous fat and widespread chronic pain has not been thoroughly studied. Among the men studied, those with higher levels of visceral adipose tissue and subcutaneous adipose tissue were found to have a 34 per cent and 39 per cent higher likelihood of experiencing widespread chronic pain, respectively.

The stronger links between fat and chronic pain in women could be due to differences in fat distribution compared to men, as well as hormonal differences. The researchers suggested that addressing abdominal fat could help reduce chronic pain, especially if it is widespread.

For the study, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of the abdomen were used to measure both types of fat—visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue. The participants also underwent pain assessments, where they were asked if they had experienced pain in their neck or shoulder, back, hip, knee, or ‘all over the body’ for more than three months. These scans and evaluations were repeated after two years for a smaller group of 638 participants.

Being an observational study, the authors could not establish cause-and-effect relationships. They also acknowledged the study’s limitations, including the comparatively smaller sample size of participants undergoing repeat tests and the lack of measurement of pain severity.

“Abdominal adipose tissue was associated with chronic musculoskeletal pain, suggesting that excessive and ectopic (abnormal) fat deposition may be involved in the pathogenesis of multisite and widespread chronic musculoskeletal pain,” the authors wrote.

(PTI)