Carried out among more than 3,000 French people and 300 health professionals, the study reveals that women are almost twice as likely as men to suffer regularly. Even more worrying, they report more severe pain and say they feel less heard when they consult. An observation which questions the way in which our society still considers the suffering of women today.
Pains that accompany a lifetime
For many women, pain is not a one-time episode. It often appears very early in life and can accompany each major stage of life.
The investigation “The French, French women and pain” shows that almost twice as many women as men regularly live with painful symptoms. While 28% of men report being repeatedly affected by pain, this proportion reaches 52% among women.
The difference is not limited to frequency. It also concerns intensity. Among women suffering from pain, 71% rate their level of suffering above 7 out of 10, compared to 52% of men. Even more striking, they are twice as likely to report extreme pain, greater than 9 out of 10.
Behind these figures lies an often unknown path. According to the survey, 79% of women say they have already suffered from painful periods. More than one in ten say they have endometriosis. More than half report having experienced pain during pregnancy (56%) or after childbirth (53%). As for women aged 50 to 64, 57% say they have already suffered from gynecological pain linked to menopause.
But the study reveals a phenomenon less often mentioned: these specifically feminine pains seem to be accompanied more frequently by other painful conditions. Women currently suffering from painful periods report more headaches than the general population. Those facing problems linked to menopause more often report musculoskeletal pain, headaches or even pain associated with osteoarthritis.
In other words, female pain is not just a succession of isolated episodes. They sometimes seem to be part of a broader context of vulnerability to pain. As Céline Camilleri, General Manager of North West Europe at Haleon, points out:
“From puberty, then through pregnancy, postpartum and until menopause, women face specific pain which, according to our survey, can also influence the appearance of other painful pathologies. And yet, women’s pain too often remains trivialized. How many times have we considered it “normal” to suffer during our periods? How many times have pain been minimized, put into perspective, or even referred to psychological causes?“
These questions run through all of the results of the study.
When the pain is heard too late
Physical suffering is already difficult to bear. Not feeling listened to can be even more so. This is precisely what the second major lesson of the survey reveals.
For 57% of French people, pain is poorly taken into account by society today. More than a third of respondents also believe that it is not sufficiently considered by health professionals.
Among women, this feeling is even more pronounced. No less than 83% of them consider that their painful symptoms are too often “normalized” by health professionals. More than half (55%) believe that their pain is frequently attributed to psychological causes. Finally, 70% believe that their support comes too late.
These figures tell of an experience that many patients have described for years: that of pain that is sometimes put into perspective, considered as part of the female condition rather than as a symptom requiring in-depth investigation.
This trivialization is not without consequences. The study shows that 67% of people concerned hesitate to consult when pain appears, preferring to wait to see how the situation evolves. Even more worrying, 27% do not seek any healthcare professional.
This postponement of consultation can encourage the onset of chronic pain, but also delay the diagnosis of certain sometimes complex pathologies, such as endometriosis or certain inflammatory diseases.
Over the years, scientific work has shown that pain is never just a biological signal. It is also influenced by the way people look at it, by the quality of the listening received and by the speed of support. It is precisely on these dimensions that the survey now calls for progress.
Listen better, guide better: ways to get out of invisibility
Faced with this observation, a question emerges: how can we prevent thousands of women from continuing to live with insufficiently recognized pain? The survey highlights a local actor particularly identified by patients: the community pharmacist.
In a context marked by difficulties in accessing care, 84% of French people consider them to be the most accessible healthcare professional. Nearly 7 out of 10 people also believe that they are best placed to provide a rapid response to pain.
Pharmacists themselves appear poised to play a greater role. According to the study, 94% of them say they are in favor of expanding their missions in order to improve the management of female pain.
For Dr Arnaud Daguet, community pharmacist:
“The pharmacy constitutes a central link in the patient care pathway; structuring early identification of female pain would improve guidance towards appropriate care and prevent chronicization of pain“.
Beyond the role of the pharmacist, the authors call for better coordination between all professionals involved in the care pathway. Professor Daniel Benamouzig, holder of the Health Chair at Sciences Po, summarizes the issue as follows:
“What this survey highlights is the urgency of strengthening the coordination of all health stakeholders to better manage the pain of the French. By structuring a prevention and early intervention pathway, we can significantly reduce diagnostic wandering, but also inequalities in access to care.”.
The study also leads to several recommendations: strengthening the training of health professionals on female pain, developing early detection systems and promoting awareness campaigns aimed at the general public.
Because behind the statistics are millions of women who, every month, every pregnancy or every stage of their life, sometimes learn to live with pain that they have come to consider as normal. But the real breakthrough may not just be better treatment of pain. It consists first of recognizing that it exists, listening to it without prejudice and finally giving it the place it deserves in the public health debate.