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The following is a summary of “Effects of socioeconomic position on endogenous pain modulation: A quasi-experimental approach,” published in the January 2025 issue of Journal of Pain by Raghuraman et al. 

Socioeconomic Position (SEP) influenced chronic pain severity, interference, and duration, but its impact on placebo analgesia remained understudied.  

Researchers conducted a retrospective study to analyze the impact of SEP on placebo analgesia in individuals with temporomandibular disorder (TMD) and those without pain using a quasi-experimental approach.  

They analyzed 401 individuals with TMD and 400 pain-free individuals. Latent class analysis classified participants into 2 SEP groups based on self-reported education, income, occupation, and neighborhood distress indices, including the area deprivation and distressed community indexes. Ancestry Informative Markers (AIMs) and self-reported race were included to account for genetic and demographic influences. Placebo analgesia was induced using verbal suggestion and classical conditioning. Linear mixed models assessed SEP’s impact, while multiple regression and ANCOVA evaluated AIMs’ and race’s effects.  

The results showed comparable placebo effects between individuals with TMD and pain-free individuals (F (1,4765.73) = 0.49, P = 0.48). A trend was observed in the main effect of SEP (F (1,4764.5) = 3.64, P = 0.056). Among those with TMD, individuals with distressed SEP exhibited lower placebo analgesia (F (1,4765.73) = 7.9, P = 0.005), while no significant difference was found in individuals without pain (F (1,4765.73) = 0.27, P = 0.59). Greater placebo analgesia was associated with East Asian ancestry (β = 5.71, 95% CI [1.50, 9.92]) and self-reported Asian identity (mean = 24.20, sem = 1.52, P = 0.020).  

Investigators concluded that SEP, AIMs, and race had interacted in placebo analgesia, suggesting a need for personalized pain management approaches. 

Source: jpain.org/article/S1526-5900(25)00004-5/fulltext