Abstract
In this paper we investigate gender differences in efects of psychiatric hospitalisation on subjective quality of life (QOL). Method: 150 patients with ICD-10 diagnoses of F2x, F3x, F4x hospitalised in Prague Psychiatric Center rated their subjective QOL on Schwartz--Outcome-Scale (SOS-10) during admission and discharge.
Both attending physicians and patients also rated the severity of illness using the Clinical Global Impression scale. Results: Subjective quality of life at admission was higher in men than women.
Patients of both genders in comparison with physicians underestimated the severity of their illness at admission, with greater differences between physicians and patients in men. During the hospitalisation, QOL significantly improved in both genders, more so in women.
There was no difference between men and women in severity of symptoms and subjective quality of life at discharge. Likewise there was no difference between patients and physicians in rating of the severity of illness.
Discussion: Based on the differences in ratings of illness severity between physicians and patients, the higher subjective quality of life during admission may reflect subjective exaggeration by men, rather than differences caused by varying severity of illness between sexes. Agreement in ratings of clinical symptoms between physicians and patients and lack of differences between sexes towards the end of hospitalization suggests higher validity of subjective quality of life ratings at discharge vs. admission.
The observed gender differences in quality of life may be related to psychological and demographic variations between men and women.