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Connecting the dots: Eye Color and Pain Tolerance

Have you ever heard the term "biomarker?"  A biomarker is defined as "a measurable indicator of some biological state or condition."  You might already be familiar with some biomarkers...for instance, the prevalence of sickle-cell anemia in persons with dark skin.  Biomarkers are being studied in the realm of pain management as well.  




Pain Medicine News reports of a recent study in which researchers were looking for a correlation between eye color and pain tolerance.  In the study, 58 pregnant women were assessed for pain using standard validated pain tools, including the Brief Pain Inventory, Patient Reported Outcome Measurement Information System, anxiety/depression sleep scales, Pain Catastrophizing Scale, and Quantitative Sensory Testing.  Of the 58 subjects studied, 24 of the women had dark colored eyes (brown or hazel) , while the remaining 34 had light colored eyes, including shades of blue or green.






Given the small number of subjects, these results are very preliminary, and a larger scale study would be needed to confirm the following very interesting findings:

--Individuals with darker colored eyes showed increased anxiety...
--Darker eye color also was predictive of increased sleep disturbance...
--Lighter eye colors showed less pain at rest and during movement after epidural analgesia...

The authors feel that this is an important and useful subject of study because it's a quick, easy, and inexpensive way for health care workers to predict pain management needs of a given patient. 
Depending on the results of future studies, it may even help to better tailor pain management needs for a given individual!

Sources: Wikipedia, Wikimedia, Pain Medicine News

 





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