정신분열병의 사회인구학적 요인 및 임상양상의 성별차이

Gender Differences of Sociodemographic Factors and Clinical Features in Schizophrenia

Objects ： During the last decade, there has been growing knowledge on the gender differences of many features in schizophrenia. We tried to find out gender differences in sociodemographic factors and clinical features in schizophrenic patients. Methods ： Ninety inpatients, 44 men and 46 women, who met the diagnostic criteria for schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder and schizophreniform disorder by Diagnosis and Statistical Manual m Revised(DSM- IE -R) were studied. Interview with subjects or the review of medical records were performed in order to examine sociodemographic factors, age of onset, total number of admission and total hospital days during 18 months since the first admission, and the highest dosage of antipsychotics(chlorpromazine equivalent dose) and diagnosis. Positive and Negative Symptom Scale(PANSS) was used to examine the severity of symptoms at the first admission and at discharge, and the digrer of improvement was assessed. Results ： 1) No gender difference was found in sociodemographic factors, such as mean age, season of birth, education level, occupation, religion and marital status. 2) Earlier age of onset and the longer hospital stays was noted in male schizophrenics than in females(p〈 0.05). But the total number of admission and the highest dosage o f antipsychotics did not differ between genders. 3) The total scores o f positive scale, negative and general psychopathology at admission and at discharge and the differences of improvement showed statistically significant differences. Conclusions : Later onset and shorter hospital stay in female schizophrenic patients compared to males are supposed to due to protective effect of estrogen, lesser social stress in females, and structural vulnerability to schizophrenia in males