| Summary: | Introduction
Despite the acknowledged interconnection between smoking and pain,
research on the relationship between smoking and central sensitization (CS) is
scarce; this pain mechanism has attracted recent research attention. Considering
potential sex differences, this cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the
association between smoking and CS.
Material and Methods
Overall, 415 adult participants from an outpatient clinic underwent
evaluation. The analysis focused on determining the relationship between smoking
status and CS by differentiating between sexes. Data were collected on smoking
presence or absence (independent variable) and CS (dependent variable) for
each sex, with age, education level, drinking history, depression, and anxiety as
covariates. CS was evaluated using the Central Sensitization Inventory. Following
a descriptive analysis of the study population’s characteristics, logistic regression
analysis was employed to assess the relationships.
Results
The average participant age was 42.3 years, with 59% being women. Among
women, a significant association was found between smoking status and higher CS
severity (AOR=3.21; 95% CI 1.29–7.99, p<0.01), after accounting for confounding
variables. Conversely, no significant association was observed for men (AOR=1.50;
95% CI 0.63–3.60, p=0.36). Interaction by sex on the relationship between
smoking and CS was not statistically significant (p=0.23).
Conclusions
This study suggests a potential association between smoking and CS
in women, whereas no conclusive relationship was observed among men. These
findings indicate the necessity of considering CS when examining the relationship
between smoking and pain.
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