Males appear to endure pain better than females in most regions of the body, excluding childbirth, according to analysis of nearly 72,000 medical records by the Stanford School of Medicine, 

Researches evaluated patients suffering from one of 47 common health disorders, including cancer, back conditions, joint problems and digestive track issues.  

Patients ranked the extent of their pain on a scale of zero to 10. For most conditions, women reported pain levels about one point higher than men suffering from the same disorder.

Past studies said estrogen levels may affect women’s pain sensitivity. Estrogen, when present in abundance, dampens pain receptors and improves a woman’s ability to manage pain. When estrogen levels drop, however, women often rate their pain levels higher than men.

While the difference in reported pain levels could be caused by biological differences, researches said societal factors offer likely explanations as well, as men are likely to report lower pain levels to maintain a ‘macho’ façade.

Compiled by Kory Kianpour