A study published in Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine has linked higher levels of
abdominal fat, particularly visceral fat around internal organs, with a greater likelihood of
experiencing widespread chronic pain, particularly in women. The research, conducted with
over 32,000 participants from the UK Biobank, found that women with excess visceral
adipose tissue were twice as likely to report chronic pain in multiple areas of their body.
Subcutaneous adipose tissue, the fat located just beneath the skin, was also linked to
increased pain, with women having a 60% higher chance of experiencing chronic, multisite
pain compared to those with lower levels of this fat. Chronic pain, which persists long after
an injury or trauma has healed, can affect various parts of the body simultaneously, creating
significant physical and psychological distress.
The study also examined the effects of abdominal fat on men, who were found to have a 34%
and 39% increased risk of widespread chronic pain with higher levels of visceral and
subcutaneous fat, respectively. However, the connection between abdominal fat and chronic
pain was notably stronger in women. Researchers believe this disparity could be due to
differences in how fat is distributed between men and women, as well as hormonal
influences.
To gather the data, the researchers used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans to measure
the amount of both visceral and subcutaneous fat in the participants. They also conducted
pain assessments, asking participants if they had experienced pain in areas such as the neck,
shoulder, back, hip, knee, or throughout the body for longer than three months. A smaller
subset of the group, comprising 638 individuals, was evaluated again two years later to track
any changes in fat levels and pain.
While the study highlighted a strong association between abdominal fat and chronic
musculoskeletal pain, it could not definitively prove that excess fat directly causes chronic
pain. The researchers acknowledged that the observational nature of the study and limitations,
such as the smaller follow-up sample size and the lack of data on pain severity, prevent them
from drawing firm cause-and-effect conclusions. However, they emphasized that addressing
abdominal fat could be a key strategy in reducing the prevalence of chronic, widespread pain,
particularly among women.
These findings open up new avenues for research into how body fat, especially in the
abdominal region, contributes to the development and persistence of chronic pain, a condition
that affects millions of people globally.
