PHILADELPHIA—Researchers may have identified key genes linked to why some people have a higher tolerance for pain than others, according to a study presented at the 66th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology.
“Our study is quite significant because it provides an objective way to understand pain and why different individuals have different pain tolerance levels,” said study author Tobore Onojjighofia, MD, MPH, who is affiliated with Proove Biosciences. “Identifying whether a person has these four genes could help doctors better understand a patient’s perception of pain.”
Researchers evaluated 2,721 people diagnosed with chronic pain for certain genes. The genes involved were COMT, DRD2, DRD1, and OPRK1. Participants, all of whom were taking prescription opioid pain medications, were asked to rate their perception of pain on a scale from zero to 10. People who rated their pain as zero were excluded from further study. Low pain perception was defined as a score of one, two, or three; moderate pain perception was a score of four, five, or six; and high pain perception was a score of seven or higher. Nine percent of the participants had low pain perception, 46% had moderate pain perception, and 45% had high pain perception.
The researchers found that the DRD1 gene variant was 33% more prevalent in the low pain group than in the high pain group. Among people with a moderate pain perception, the COMT and OPRK variants were 25% and 19% more often found than in those with a high pain perception. The DRD2 variant was 25% more common among those with a high pain perception compared to people with moderate pain.
“Chronic pain can affect every other part of life,” said Dr. Onojjighofia. “Finding genes that may play a role in pain perception could provide a target for developing new therapies and help physicians better understand their patients’ perceptions of pain.”