(Image source: Health.com)

BY STACEY WELSH 

ANCHOR MEGAN MURPHY

Women might be considered the fairer sex, but are they really more sensitive? A Stanford study says yes -- showing women feel pain more intensely than men -- by one point on a scale of one to 11.  But anchors on KABC think pain tolerance depends on the individual, not gender.

“LESLIE: I beg to differ!

PHILLIP: I think that’s absolutely wrong. It’s what your perception of pain is. Women consistently feel it one way- men consistently perceive it differently. We know you can feel more pain than us.

LESLIE: Yeah, you’re safe!”

TIME Magazine suggests the difference is in women’s hormones.

“… estrogen in women can help dampen the activity of pain receptors, helping them to tolerate higher levels of pain. That means, however, that they may become more sensitive to pain during low-estrogen parts of the menstrual cycle.”

ABC News reports medical experts are skeptical of the study, citing authors did not account for subjects having existing medical conditions that caused pain.

“… it could actually be the other diseases, and not their gender, which is responsible for the women having more pain than men.”

But the International Business Times says men might report less pain due to social expectations. They don’t want to appear weak.

“Men may be more reluctant to confess intense pain to a female nurse, for example.”

The physician who led the study says the difference in pain intensity might lead researchers to develop more effective treatment. MercuryNews.com reports…

“…an important next step will be to find out whether men and women respond to pain medications differently. The answer could be a big step forward for sex-specific, personalized medicine.”

Before that happens, researchers expect the findings will continue to stir up discussions between couples and fuel the battle of the sexes.