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Gender differences and related factors affecting online gaming addiction among Taiwanese adolescents.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the extent to which gender and other factors predict the severity of online gaming addiction among Taiwanese adolescents. A total of 395 junior high school students were recruited for evaluation of their experiences playing online games. Severity of addiction, behavioral characteristics, number of stressors, and level of satisfaction with daily life were compared between males and females who had previously played online games. Multiple regression analysis was used to explore gender differences in the relationships between severity of online gaming addiction and a number of variables. This study found that subjects who had previously played online games were predominantly male. Gender differences were also found in the severity of online gaming addiction and motives for playing. Older age, lower self-esteem, and lower satisfaction with daily life were associated with more severe addiction among males, but not among females. Special strategies accounting for gender differences must be implemented to prevent adolescents with risk factors from becoming addicted to online gaming.

Adolescent↗

Gender differences in blood pressure control during a variety of behavioral stressors.

This study assessed gender differences in hemodynamic response patterns to behavioral stressors. In addition, the extent to which gender differences in cardiovascular reactivity were a function of the type of challenge was determined by employing tasks relying on stereotypically male areas of competence and a task relying on stereotypically female areas of competence. Sixteen female and 15 male graduate, medical or dental students were exposed to two speech tasks and two math tasks. While there were no significant differences in blood pressure reactivity between the genders, females exhibited significantly greater cardiac output increases across all tasks than males, while males tended to respond with greater increases in total peripheral resistance compared with females. Furthermore, during two of the tasks, significantly more females were classified as myocardial hyperreactors (based on increases in cardiac output), while significantly more males were vascular hyperreactors (based on increases in total peripheral resistance). A post hoc analysis also indicated an apparent association between oral contraceptive use and higher cardiovascular reactivity among the females tested. This association may have been a consequence of the decision to test all women during days 10 to 14 of the menstrual cycle when reactivity in women not using oral contraceptives may be suppressed.

Adult↗

The role of gender differences in the reduction of etiologic heterogeneity in schizophrenia.

Recent research has shown a resurgence of interest in the study of gender differences in schizophrenia. Accumulated evidence suggests that, compared with women, men have a higher incidence of schizophrenia, earlier age of onset, poorer course and medication response, poorer premorbid social and intellectual functioning, fewer affective symptoms, lower family morbid risk of schizophrenia and affective disorders, more evidence of obstetric complications in their mothers, and greater structural brain abnormalities. The roles of estrogen, neurodevelopment, and family history of affective disorder are evaluated as co-contributors to the observed gender differences in schizophrenia. Particular emphasis is given to evaluating the hypothesis that men are more prone to a hypothesized poor-prognosis, neurodevelopmental subtype of schizophrenia, for which early environmental brain insults play an important etiologic role, whereas women may be more prone to a hypothesized good-prognosis, affective subtype that is genetically related to the affective disorders. This hypothesis is evaluated in terms of (a) its ability to account for gender differences in schizophrenia, (b) its ability to link differences in clinical presentation to proposed differences in etiology; and (c) its potential to generate testable predictions for future schizophrenia research.

Adult↗

Gender differences in epidemiological factors associated with treatment completion status of leprosy patients in the most hyperendemic district of Nepal.

The introduction of multidrug therapy (MDT), recommended by WHO, has been a major advance in the treatment of leprosy because of its relatively short treatment course and low rate of relapse. Although leprosy treatment is provided to both sexes equally, in most parts of the world significant differences have been found in treatment status. The main objective of the study was to investigate gender differences in epidemiological factors associated with treatment status of leprosy patients. An analytic cross-sectional study was carried out in the most hyperendemic Dhanusa District, Nepal. Stratified random sampling was applied for selection of the patients. Statistical analysis of the differences in treatment status, between males and females, and among other epidemiological factors of interest was carried out using multiple logistic regression. Chi-square/Fisher's exact test were also used to assess significant differences in values between males and females. There were 580 leprosy patients (385 male and 195 female) aged >15 years registered for MDT between April 1, 2001 to March 31, 2002 in the 16 main health centers of the district. Of the 580 patients, a total of 273 (183 male and 90 female) were included in the study, to collect data on clinical type of leprosy, patterns of physical deformity/disability, site of skin lesions, and socio-demographic information. There were 183 male (68.3% on MB-MDT) and 90 female (61.1% MB-MDT) leprosy patients. We found that 79.2% of male patients completed treatment, while 34.4% female patients did not complete within the given time frame. Significant gender differences among leprosy patients were found in the distribution of disability grades and treatment completion status. However, there was no significant gender difference in the distribution of leprosy types and skin lesion sites. The study also found significant associations between treatment completion status and gender (adjusted OR 2.05, 95% CI: 1.07-3.94), educational status (adjusted OR 2.37, 95% CI: 1.12-4.99), disability grade I (adjusted OR 3.14, 95% CI: 1.23-8.04), and disability grade 0 (adjusted OR 2.92, 95% CI: 1.14-7.47) after adjustment for all other leprosy/demographic factors.

Adolescent↗

Gender differences in lipoprotein lipase activity after acute exercise.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether gender differences exist in lipoprotein lipase (LPL) activity in response to exercise and/or insulin. Exercise and insulin are known modulators of LPL activity in men, but this is less clear in women. LPL activity may predict propensity for obesity; therefore, understanding its modulators is of considerable importance. RESEARCH METHODS AND PROCEDURES: Gender differences in skeletal muscle and adipose tissue LPL activity were determined after a single bout of exercise followed by a hyperinsulinemic/euglycemic clamp and compared with an identical rest day in healthy lean men (n = 10) and women (n = 10). Muscle and adipose tissue biopsies were obtained pre- (post-exercise vs. rest) and post-clamp. RESULTS: Basal levels of muscle and adipose tissue LPL activity were not different between men and women. There was, however, a significant gender by day interaction for muscle LPL activity (p = 0.023) and adipose tissue LPL activity (p = 0.013). In muscle, this was because of a significant increase in LPL activity on the exercise vs. rest day in men (p < 0.001) but not women. Adipose tissue LPL activity also increased significantly in men on the exercise day relative to rest day (p = 0.04) but decreased in women (p = 0.10). The hyperinulinemic/euglycemic clamp had no independent effect on tissue LPL activity, in either gender, after rest or exercise. DISCUSSION: In the 3 to 4 hours after exercise, muscle and adipose tissue LPL activity increased significantly in men, whereas LPL activity remained unchanged in women.

Adipose Tissue↗

Post-traumatic stress reactions in children: gender differences in the incidence of trauma reactions at two years and examination of factors influencing adjustment.

Although a number of studies have noted gender differences in post-traumatic reactions, little has been written about the phenomena. This study examines the post-traumatic reactions among 25 predominantly adolescent children, from a rural community college, two years after a non-fatal school coach accident in the Austrian Alps. For the group as a whole psychological adjustment is good, but gender differences are noted with poorer adjustment for girls. Hospitalization was associated with worse outcome for both boys and girls. The gender differences noted are considered in the light of coping strategies chosen by the children.

Accidents, Traffic↗

Gender differences in personality disorders in psychiatrically hospitalized young adults.

We examined gender differences in DSM-III-R personality disorders in psychiatrically hospitalized young adults. Structured diagnostic interviews were reliably performed on a consecutive series of 118 inpatients. Men were significantly more likely to meet criteria for cluster A, schizotypal, and antisocial personality disorders. To reduce variability due to axis I heterogeneity, we retested for gender differences in a subgroup of patients with major depression. Depressed men were more likely to meet criteria for cluster A, schizotypal, and cluster C personality disorders. Women were not observed to have a higher frequency of any personality disorder than men in either study group.

Adult↗

Work and well-being: gender differences in the psychological consequences of employment.

Differential exposure and vulnerability to social roles and role characteristics have been suggested as accounts for gender differences in well-being. This paper proposes a refinement of these models that incorporates the indirect effect of roles through intervening social and psychological resources. These reformulated models provide the framework for an analysis of gender differences in the psychological consequences of work that estimates the direct and indirect effects of two job conditions, control and complexity, on two dimensions of well-being. Results reveal patterns of differential exposure, but also suggest some gender differences in the intervening variables through which work conditions influence well-being. These differences occur primarily in the proximate effects of self-esteem and social integration on distress and happiness.

Adult↗

Are gender differences in cardiovascular disease risk factors explained by the level of visceral adipose tissue?

It has been suggested that the lower prevalence of cardiovascular disease in women before menopause in comparison with men may be explained by differences in body fat distribution, plasma lipoprotein levels and indices of plasma glucose-insulin homeostasis. Thus, gender differences in visceral adipose tissue accumulation measured by computed tomography and metabolic variables were studied in 80 men and 69 pre-menopausal women, aged 23-50 years. Despite the fact that women had higher levels of total body fat (p < 0.0001), they displayed lower areas of abdominal visceral adipose tissue (p < 0.06) and a lower ratio of abdominal visceral to mid-thigh adipose tissue areas than men (p < 0.0001). After adjustment for body fat mass, women generally displayed a more favourable risk profile than men which included higher plasma HDL2-cholesterol and lower plasma insulin, apolipoprotein B and triglyceride levels (p < 0.01). Metabolic variables adjusted for body fat mass were then compared between genders after control for differences in abdominal visceral adipose tissue area. After such controls, variables related to plasma glucose-insulin homeostasis were no longer significantly different between men and women. Gender differences for plasma concentrations of triglyceride, apolipoprotein B and the ratio of HDL2-cholesterol/HDL3-cholesterol also disappeared, whereas plasma concentrations of HDL-cholesterol, HDL2-cholesterol as well as the ratio of HDL-cholesterol/total cholesterol remained significantly higher in women than in men (p < 0.01). These results suggest that abdominal visceral adipose tissue is an important correlate of gender differences in cardiovascular disease risk. However, additional factors are likely to be involved in gender differences in plasma HDL-cholesterol levels.

Adipose Tissue↗

[Gender differences in suicidal behavior].

Gender-specific differences in suicidal behaviour have been analysed in a number of recent studies. According to these, several socioeconomic, demographic, psychiatric, familial, help-seeking differences can be identified in protective and risk factors between males and females. Gender is one of the most replicated predictors for suicide. In the framework of the WHO/EURO Multicentre Study on Suicidal Behaviour, more than fifty thousand suicide attempts have been registered so far. Until now data on more than 1200 monitored suicidal events have been collected in Pecs centre. In most countries male suicid rates are higher. In contrast to suicides, rates of suicide attempts are usually higher in females. Concerning the differences in methods, it is a recognised fact that males use violent methods of both suicide and attempted suicide more often than females. The summarised clinical impression suggests that compliance of male patients is poorer than that of females. According to our data, a typical male attempter is characterised as follows: unemployed, never married, lives alone. He tends to use violent methods; if he takes drugs, it is mostly meprobamate or carbamazepine. A lot of male attempters have alcohol problems or dependence. As for the females, we found high odds ratios in the following cases: divorced or widowed, economically inactive, depressive state in the anamnesis. Female attempters are mainly repeaters using the method of self-poisoning, mostly with benzodiazepines. As suicide is a multicausal phenomenon, its therapy and prevention should also be complex and gender differences should be taken into account in building up our helping strategies.

Adolescent↗

Perception of the horizontal and vertical in tangible displays: minimal gender differences.

A study is reported of gender differences in a haptic version of three Piagetian tests that assess understanding of Euclidian space. A raised-line drawing kit was used both for subject responses and for production of stimuli. To test understanding of the horizontal, subjects felt pictures of a jar at four tilts and were asked to draw the water line. Two methods were used to examine understanding of the vertical. First, subjects drew a hanging electrical cord and light bulb, attached to the ceiling of a bus, parked on hills of four different angles. Subsequently, subjects drew telephone poles (represented by a single line) on hills of four different angles. In the jar task, males and females showed comparable performance, both groups showing large errors. Judgments of the vertical were very similar for males and females in the bus task, but errors diminished considerably for both genders when subjects drew telephone poles on hills. It is suggested that better judgments of the vertical in the pole task probably derive from the use of body-centered spatial reference information.

Analysis of Variance↗

Gender differences in exerted forces and physiological load during pushing and pulling of wheeled cages by postal workers.

The aim was to determine gender differences regarding exerted forces and physiological load during push/pull tasks simulating the daily working practice of postal workers. Eight female and four male workers handled four-wheeled cages under eight conditions corresponding to the cage weight (130, 250, 400, 550 kg) and the direction of force exertion (pushing, pulling). For each of the five dependent variables, average force, initial force, ending force, oxygen uptake and heart rate, two analyses of variance with repeated measurements were performed, i.e. with and without correction for the worker's body weight, body height and maximum capacity regarding the dependent variable. Exerted forces and physiological load were high for the cages weighing 400 and 550 kg. Gender differences were significant for all dependent variables (p = 0.030-0.000). When the personal factors were included in the model, male workers exerted significantly higher average forces and ending forces than their females, while differences regarding initial forces and physiological load were not significant. However, none of the personal factors were significantly related to any of the dependent variables. It is concluded that gender differences in exerted forces were not caused by differences in anthropometry and maximum capacity, but due to application of different work methods by women in order to balance work demands and work ability.

Adult↗

Comment on large gender difference on death anxiety in Arab countries.

In the recent interesting and excellent article by Abdel-Khalek (2) the large mean difference between Death Anxiety Scale (6) for males and females in Lebanon was noted. I have also noted such large differences in other studies with subjects in Arab countries (1, 3, 4). These studies and that of Abdel-Khalek (2) provide a total of 12 gender differences in four different countries--Egypt, Kuwait, Lebanon, and Libya. Although these large gender differences would be notable in comparison to those of most studies in the United States or other English-speaking countries, the comparison was made with the differences provided by the two studies that presented norms and norm-like information (5, 8). These two studies contain 12 pairs of means for both sexes. Eight of the 12 Arab difference means were higher than the highest American difference mean (chi 2 = 12.00, p less than .01). The reason(s) for the larger gender differences on death anxiety are not known, but it appears reasonable to suggest that in countries in which there are large sex-role differences that likely include bravery, men would be more expected to report lower death anxiety than women. Cross-cultural and demographic research with the recently developed Death Depression Scale (7) would likely yield interesting findings.

Adult↗

Gender differences in memory for the appearance of others.

Five studies investigated gender differences in the accurate recall of the appearance of others. The greater interpersonal orientation and interpersonal sensitivity of women were predicted to give women an advantage over men in appearance accuracy. Under both directed- and incidental-learning conditions, women more accurately recalled information concerning the appearance of their social targets than did men, participants' memory for the appearance of female targets was more accurate than it was for male targets, and neither gender was found to be a relative advantage in recalling the appearance of same-gender targets. The motivational and knowledge-based factors that might underlie a gender difference in appearance accuracy are discussed.

Adult↗

Gender difference in basal and stress levels of peripheral blood leukocytes in laboratory rats.

The aim of the present study was to investigate gender differences in numbers and function of blood immune cells in stressed and non-stressed laboratory rats. Psychosocial stress in adult male or female rats was induced by social confrontation of an intruder rat with a resident opponent for 2 h. Behavioral analysis indicated that intruders of both sexes were clearly defeated and had markedly higher plasma corticosterone concentrations than unstressed home cage controls at the end of the confrontation. Lower numbers of CD4, CD8, and B cells as well as a reduced proliferative response of lymphocytes to ConA were observed in stressed groups of either sex. However, some important gender differences were also observed. Stressed males had higher granulocyte numbers than controls, while granulocyte numbers remained unchanged in stressed females. Similarly, stressed males had higher phagocytic activity than stressed females. Second, there was a gender difference in some basal values. Female controls had lower NK cell numbers than control males. Interestingly, NK numbers in stressed males decreased considerably, reaching the same low levels as in (stressed and control) females. In addition, females exhibited higher basal corticosterone concentrations than males. To summarise, these data do not indicate a superior blood cellular immune function in female rats, neither for the control nor the stress condition. However, the data clearly suggest that male and female rats should not be considered as a uniform group with respect to their immunological response to stress.

Aggression↗

Gender differences in left ventricular functional response to aortic valve replacement.

BACKGROUND: To characterize gender differences in recovery of ventricular function and survival after aortic valve replacement (AVR), baseline characteristics related to outcome were analyzed in 1012 consecutive patients (329 women and 683 men) undergoing AVR in 1983 through 1990. METHODS AND RESULTS: Seventy-seven percent of patients had aortic stenosis (AS), 11% insufficiency (AI), and 12% mixed AS/AI; 42% underwent concomitant coronary artery bypass. Women as a group had a greater mean age (P < .0001), had AS more frequently than AI or AS/AI (P < .01), had coronary disease less frequently (P < .01), and had a higher preoperative left ventricular ejection fraction (EF) (P < .0001), although preoperative New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class was similar (P = NS) compared with men. Male sex (P < .0001), advanced age (P < .0003), AI rather than AS (P < .01), and greater extent of coronary disease (P < .04) were independently associated with lower preoperative EF. Women with coronary disease were as likely as men (P = NS) to undergo concomitant coronary bypass, and completeness of revascularization did not differ (P = NS) by gender. Observed survival probabilities after AVR (expressed as 30-day/5-year) were .97/.81 overall, .94/.77 for women, and .98/.83 for men (P < .02). Cox model analysis showed advanced age, decreased preoperative EF, greater extent of coronary disease, requirement for annular enlargement, smaller prosthetic valve size, and advanced NYHA class (all P < .04) but neither female sex nor smaller body surface area (both P = NS) as multivariate risk factors for overall mortality. In 664 patients (66%), postoperative EF was measured a mean 1.4 years after AVR. In patients with preoperative EF < or = 45% (n = 167), the change in EF after AVR was greater (P < .02) in women (from 33 +/- 8% to 48 +/- 15%, P < .001) than in men (from 32 +/- 9% to 42 +/- 15%, P < .001). By multivariate regression analysis, female sex (P < .02) and lesser extent of coronary disease (P < .05) were independent predictors of early improvement in EF. Improvement in EF conveyed an independent subsequent survival benefit to both women (P < .03) and men (P < .001), and the magnitude of benefit did not differ (P = .4) between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that gender-related factors importantly influence the adaptive and recovery response of the left ventricle to pressure and volume overload. However, gender differences in LV adaptation do not influence survival after AVR.

Aged↗

Gender differences in a sample of schizophrenic outpatients.

Our objective was to study gender differences in schizophrenia, comparing clinical, social, and illness course characteristics. A sample of 239 schizophrenic (DSM-IV criteria) outpatients were administered the following instruments: service use and demographic questionnaires, the Positive and Negative Symptom Scale (PANSS), the Disability Assessment Scale (DAS), and the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) scale. The female to male ratio was 1/2. Men had an earlier age at onset. Women were more likely to be married and to live independently, and there were more unemployed men. Social functioning was slightly better in women (lower DAS scoring). No differences were found in symptomatological variables (global or separate PANSS scales), nor in type of schizophrenia. Course of illness in the past year appeared to be similar, except for longer hospital stays in men. We conclude that schizophrenic women had a significantly better social functioning, despite the lack of remarkable symptomatic differences between genders.

Adolescent↗

Gender differences in insulin-stimulated glucose utilization among African-Americans.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether there are gender differences in plasma insulin levels or insulin resistance in young adult African-Americans. Male (n = 53) and female (n = 45) subjects (age 23 to 28 years) included normotensives (N, blood pressure [BP] < 135/85 mm Hg) and borderline hypertensives (BH, BP > 135/85 mm Hg). Plasma insulin concentration was measured during an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) in all subjects. In 50 cases, insulin clamps were performed. Plasma estradiol and free testosterone were analyzed in a subsample (n = 15) of women. Data were analyzed for BP and gender groups by two-way ANOVA. Compared to men, women in each BP group had higher plasma insulin: glucose ratios (P < .01) and sums of insulin on OGTT (P < .02). The insulin clamp data also demonstrated significantly lower insulin-stimulated glucose utilization (M) in women compared to men in each BP group (N males 7.28 +/- 0.72 v N females 4.94 +/- 1.2 mg/kg-min; BH males 5.28 +/- .56 v BH females 2.59 +/- 0.50 mg/kg-min; P < .004 for gender differences). Analysis of the sex hormone data found a significant correlation in the ratio of free testosterone/estradiol (T/E) with plasma glucose, insulin, insulin/glucose, and systolic BP (P < .05), and no correlation of T/E with body mass index or triceps skinfold thickness. These data indicate that there are significant gender differences in plasma insulin levels and in insulin sensitivity in African-Americans. The relationship of plasma insulin to sex hormones suggests that in females, hyperinsulinemia cosegregates with increased androgenicity.

Adult↗