Gender differences in health status and life quality of students

The study has revealed that the leading hygienic risk factor of disorders and low life quality in medical students are an excess educational load at the expense of lecture and extra lecture hours, which is not characteristic of engineering students for whom the organization of a training process mostly meets the sanitary requirements. Gender differences have been found in life quality assessed by young males and females. Social factors have been proved to be the most significant parameters modifying the student's life quality. Moreover, the students of both institutes show decreased mental capacity by the third year of studies, by the fourth year, there are signs of its enhancement irrespective of gender.     

Gender differences among middle-aged Koreans for health-related quality of life related to metabolic syndrome

Purpose  

The influence of metabolic syndrome (MS) on quality of life has not been studied much among Asians, especially Koreans. This study compared the association between MS and health-related quality of life (HRQL) by gender for middle-aged Koreans.     

Health-related quality of life in young cocaine users and associated factors

AIM: To analyse drug consumption patterns and demographic and medical factors associated with health-related quality of life (HRQL) in a nonclinical sample of regular cocaine consumers. METHODS: Face-to-face interviews with 687 young regular cocaine users (aged 18-30 years) in three Spanish cities: Barcelona, Madrid and Seville. HRQL was measured using the Nottingham Health Profile (NHP), and degree of dependence through the Severity of Dependence Scale (SDS). Bivariate analyses were conducted using nonparametric techniques, and a Tobit regression analysis was carried out to determine which variables best explained HRQL. RESULTS: Most participants showed a good HRQL, but differences in HRQL were found for sociodemographic (gender), medical (days stayed in bed during the previous 12 months) and consumption-pattern related variables (length of drug use, intravenous drug use, crack use, SDS). In multivariate analyses cocaine dependence measured by SDS explained the greatest amount of HRQL variation. Although women declared worse HRQL (13.6 versus 9.7, P < 0.01), in the final model with interactions no gender differences were observed, except that HRQL for women worsened with the number of days they had stayed in bed in the previous 12 months. CONCLUSIONS: Even in early phases of dependence, deterioration in HRQL is observed, mainly related to drug-use history and patterns.     

Gender differences in health related behaviour: some unanswered questions

To date, no single explanation has accounted for discrepancies between male and female morbidity rates and health care utilization patterns. The sociomedical approach to sex/gender differences in health related behaviour has generated a variety of hypotheses. However, despite extensive study, many unanswered questions remain. The findings of this study fall short of offering conclusive evidence as to the causes of variations in morbidity and health services use between women and men. However, an effort is made to identify the salience of social role and related social status characteristics (e.g. labour force participation) in accounting for variation in health, illness and sick role behaviour. This paper utilizes data from the 1983 Winnipeg Area Study. Findings of this study raise questions about the adequacy of current concepts and measures for studying sex/gender differences in health related behaviour. The study concludes with a critical discussion of conceptual, methodological and theoretical issues which must be considered in our efforts to advance our understanding of why women experience greater longevity, but experience greater morbidity and make more extensive use of health services.     

Gender differences in musculoskeletal health of computer and mouse users in the Swedish workforce

The objectives of the study were to explore the musculoskeletal health of computer users in the Swedish workforce with regard to gender and psychosocial factors, and to describe gender differences between the occupational groups. A subset was chosen from a large survey of 12,462 individuals representing the workforce of Sweden, performed by Statistics Sweden. Included in the subset were 2044 subjects who worked for at least half their working hours with personal computers, or an equivalent device, and also used a computer mouse. All occupational groups had prevalence ratios (women/men) > 1. When using regression models, the variables 'learn and develop' and 'involved in planning your work' were health factors, and 'too much to do' was a risk factor for upper body symptoms for both women and men. For women 'PC duration 100' was a risk factor and 'support from superiors' was a health factor. Age seemed to be a stronger risk factor for men than for women.     

Gender differences in improvement of older-person-specific quality of life after hearing-aid fitting

Background

Age-related hearing loss is the third most common reason for disability in the world and has a significant impact on quality of life (QoL) amongst older adults.

Physical activity and health related quality of life

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Research on the relationship between Health Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) and physical activity (PA), to date, have rarely investigated how this relationship differ across objective and subjective measures of PA. The aim of this paper is to explore the relationship between HRQoL and PA, and examines how this relationship differs across objective and subjective measures of PA, within the context of a large representative national survey from England. METHODS: Using a sample of 5,537 adults (40-60 years) from a representative national survey in England (Health Survey for England 2008), Tobit regressions with upper censoring was employed to model the association between HRQoL and objective, and subjective measures of PA controlling for potential confounders. We tested the robustness of this relationship across specific types of PA. HRQoL was assessed using the summary measure of health state utility value derived from the EuroQol-5 Dimensions (EQ-5D) whilst PA was assessed via subjective measure (questionnaire) and objective measure (accelerometer- actigraph model GT1M). The actigraph was worn (at the waist) for 7 days (during waking hours) by a randomly selected sub-sample of the HSE 2008 respondents (4,507 adults - 16 plus years), with a valid day constituting 10 hours. Analysis was conducted in 2010. RESULTS: Findings suggest that higher levels of PA are associated with better HRQoL (regression coefficient: 0.026 to 0.072). This relationship is consistent across different measures and types of PA although differences in the magnitude of HRQoL benefit associated with objective and subjective (regression coefficient: 0.047) measures of PA are noticeable, with the former measure being associated with a relatively better HRQoL (regression coefficient: 0.072). CONCLUSION: Objective measure of PA is associated with a relatively better HRQoL than subjective measure of PA. The nature of the constituents of the HRQoL gains associated with PA and the research and policy implications of our findings are discussed.     

Gender differences in health-related quality of life in patients with HIV/AIDS

Background: In studies evaluating the general US population, patients in primary care, and patients with chronic conditions, women consistently report poorer health-related quality of life (HRQoL) than men; however, studies evaluating HRQoL in patients with HIV/AIDS have not completely corroborated those findings. The objective of this study was to evaluate gender differences in HRQoL for participants in a large randomized trial comparing antiretroviral regimens. Methods: AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG) 320 was a randomized, blinded, placebo-controlled trial comparing the 3-drug regimen of indinavir + zidovudine (or stavudine) + lamivudine with the 2-drug combination of zidovudine (or stavudine) + lamivudine in subjects with CD4 cell counts less than 200 cells/l and no prior treatment with protease inhibitors. Nine quality of life domains scored on 0–100 scales were assessed using the ACTG QOL 601-602 Health Survey at 3 points in the trial: baseline, 24 weeks and 40 weeks. Differences between men and women in HRQoL scores were assessed using the Wilcoxon rank-sum test and generalized estimating equation (GEE) models. Results: Overall, 202 females and 976 males were randomized to one of two treatment arms. Female participants were more likely to be black or Hispanic and tended to be younger. At baseline, females reported lower HRQoL scores than males in all of the domains except social functioning, and at week 40, women scored lower in all of the domains except overall health. In repeated measures models, women were found to score lower in all HRQoL domains except overall health, with significant differences of 3.5–6.7 points in 3 of the 9 quality of life domains: physical functioning, pain, and energy/fatigue. HRQoL scores improved for participants in the study over time and in response to potent treatment, and the improvements were similar for men and women. Conclusions: Women with HIV/AIDS report substantially poorer HRQoL than men with HIV/AIDS in several HRQoL domains. However, changes in domain scores over time and in response to treatment do not differ significantly by gender, implying that changes in domain scores may be better HRQoL outcomes to compare between HIV-infected men and women in clinical trials than mean domain scores.     

Selecting a measure of health related quality of life

Quality of life is becoming recognized increasingly as an important outcome measure which needs to be considered by social workers. However, there does not appear to be a clear consensus about the definition of quality of life. In addition, social workers are likely to experience difficulties choosing and applying an appropriate instrument with which to measure quality of life because of the many available instruments purporting to assess quality of life. This paper discusses the definition of health-related quality of life and explains the main measurement properties of an instrument that must be appraised when considering whether or not an instrument is appropriate. The paper will assist social workers to make an informed choice about measures of health-related quality of life.     

Prevalence of HIV infection among young adult injecting and non-injecting heroin users in Spain in the era of harm reduction programmes: gender differences and other related factors

The aims were to assess the prevalence of HIV infection among young adult heroin users, including injecting heroin users (IHUs) and non-injecting heroin users (NIHUs), and to explore the differences by gender and other factors. The design was a cross-sectional cohort study between April 2001 and December 2003, which included 961 current heroin users (HU), aged 18-30 years: 422 in Madrid, 351 in Barcelona and 188 in Seville; 621 were IHUs and 340 were NIHUs. All were street-recruited by chain referral methods. Face-to-face interviews were conducted using a structured questionnaire with computer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI). Samples for HIV testing (dried blood spot) were collected and tested with ELISA and Western Blot. Bivariate, logistic regression, and classification and regression tree analyses were performed. The overall prevalence of HIV infection among IHUs was 25.8% (95% CI 22.3-29.3) [32.4% (95% CI 26.6-38.1) in Madrid, 20.5% (95% CI 15.6-25.4) in Barcelona, and 20.6% (95% CI 9.8-31.4) in Seville], whereas in NIHUs it was 4.0% (95% CI 2.1-6.7), with no differences among cities. The prevalence was significantly higher in women than in men in NIHUs (10.9%, 95% CI 4.3-17.5 vs. 1.7%, 95% CI 0.5-4.2) and was non-significantly higher in IHUs (30.4%, 95% CI 23.0-37.8 vs. 24.1%, 95% CI 20.1-28.1). HIV prevalence in short-term IHUs was 12.9% (CI 8.8-17.02), with no differences among cities. In the logistic analysis, the variables associated with infection in IHUs were ever having injected with used syringes (OR 3.4, 95% CI 2.2-5.3), ever having been in prison (OR 2.6, 95% CI 1.6-4.0), and heroin as the first drug injected at least weekly (OR 2.3, 95% CI 1.1-4.5). Factors positively associated with HIV infection in NIHUs were female sex (OR 8.7, 95% CI 2.6-29.2) and age >25 years (OR 3.1, 95% CI 0.9-11.1), while primary educational level was inversely associated (OR 0.26, 95% CI 0.1-0.9). Although there are important geographic differences, HIV prevalence in IHUs remains high, even in short-term IHUs, whereas it was almost six times lower in NIHUs. The prevalence in women is higher than in men, particularly among NIHUs. A wide range of preventive strategies should be developed, aimed primarily at empowering women to negotiate safe sex.     

Gender differences in sarcoidosis: symptoms, quality of life, and medical consumption

The aim of this study was to examine gender differences in quality of life (QOL) and in constitutional symptoms that coincide with sarcoidosis. The study population included 1026 sarcoidosis patients--all members of the Dutch Sarcoidosis Society--who completed the WHOQOL-100 and a symptom checklist. Women experienced more symptoms than men. With regard to QOL, male and female patients who suffered from symptoms differed in the broader domains of Physical Health and Psychological Health. Specific facets reflected pain, sleep, positive affect, appearance, mobility, and activities of daily living. Future studies should focus on the different experience of the disease between male and female patients more extensively. Studies are needed to evaluate whether the differences in the present study between male and female sarcoidosis patients are caused by a subject selection bias or life style differences; have a genetic, hormonal or biological base; or just are an epiphenomenon.     

Mapping oral health related quality of life to generic health state values

Background

Accreditation has become ubiquitous across the international health care landscape. Award of full accreditation status in health care is viewed, as it is in other sectors, as a valid indicator of high quality organisational performance. However, few studies have empirically demonstrated this assertion. The value of accreditation, therefore, remains uncertain, and this persists as a central legitimacy problem for accreditation providers, policymakers and researchers. The question arises as to how best to research the validity, impact and value of accreditation processes in health care. Most health care organisations participate in some sort of accreditation process and thus it is not possible to study its merits using a randomised controlled strategy. Further, tools and processes for accreditation and organisational performance are multifaceted.

Methods/design

To understand the relationship between them a multi-method research approach is required which incorporates both quantitative and qualitative data. The generic nature of accreditation standard development and inspection within different sectors enhances the extent to which the findings of in-depth study of accreditation process in one industry can be generalised to other industries. This paper presents a research design which comprises a prospective, multi-method, multi-level, multi-disciplinary approach to assess the validity, impact and value of accreditation.

Discussion

The accreditation program which assesses over 1,000 health services in Australia is used as an exemplar for testing this design. The paper proposes this design as a framework suitable for application to future international research into accreditation. Our aim is to stimulate debate on the role of accreditation and how to research it.     

Frailty and health related quality of life in older Mexican Americans

Background  

Previous research on frailty in older adults has focused on morbidity and mortality. The purpose of this study was to elicit the relationship between being non-frail, pre-frail, or frail and health related quality of life in a representative sample of older Mexican Americans surveyed in 2005–2006.     

Reproductive health and quality of life of young Burmese refugees in Thailand

Background  

Of the 140 000 Burmese* refugees living in camps in Thailand, 30% are youths aged 15-24. Health services in these camps do not specifically target young people and their problems and needs are poorly understood. This study aimed to assess their reproductive health issues and quality of life, and identifies appropriate service needs.     

Gender differences in worksite health promotion activities

A model of intentional health-related behaviors was tested to predict men's and women's participation in six worksite health promotion programs. The model was best at predicting participation in programs that treat unhealthy conditions or behaviors. It was least successful at predicting participation in programs than can appeal to both those with 'health risks' and to health 'maximizers'. Women had higher rates of participation than men in three of the four 'treatment' programs, and they participated in more programs. In every program type, the factors that influence women's participation were different from those affecting men; and women with children showed different patterns of influence from women without children. The patterns of influence are consistent with two sources for women's greater concern with treating poor health: their nurturant role responsibilities, and a particular emphasis by the medical profession on women and women's concerns.