Evaluation of Relationship Between Body Mass Index and Experimental Pain Responses in a Young Population In Northern Nigeria

Pain perception has been shown to differ between patients with different gender, race and culture. In addition, it has been suggested that obesity influences pain perception, and can be a risk factor for increase pain perception later in life. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between obesity and pain perception among a young population in Zaria, Northern Nigeria. One hundred and thirty-two (132) apparently healthy subjects between the ages of 12 to 20 years were assessed for pain using the cold pressor test and ischemic pain models. Subjects also filled a self-reported questionnaire on physical activity. Data were presented as mean ± SD. Differences and statistical significance between the means was determined by t-test for sex differences, while effect of BMI on pain responses was analyzed using ANOVA. Values of p ≤ 0.05 were considered significant. Result of this study showed that obese subjects had a significantly lower cold pressor pain threshold than non-obese subjects, but no statistically significant difference was observed on cold pressor pain tolerance. Ischemic pain response on the other hand, showed no statistically significant variation between all the groups tested. The study indicates that there is a relationship between obesity and pain perception among a young Nigerian population in Zaria, Nigeria.