Gender differences in demographic and clinical characteristics in patients with HBV-related liver diseases in China

• Published in: PeerJ (San Francisco, CA) Vol. 10; p. e13828
• Main Authors: Liu, Mei, Li, Lu, Zhao, Jing, Ungvari, Gabor S, Ng, Chee H, Duan, Zhongping, Zheng, Su-Jun, Xiang, Yu-Tao
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States PeerJ. Ltd 05.08.2022; PeerJ, Inc; PeerJ Inc
• Subjects: Age groups; Alcohol; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular - epidemiology; Care and treatment; Cirrhosis; Demographic; Demography; Epidemiology; Female; Females; Gastroenterology and Hepatology; Gender; Gender difference; Gender differences; HBV-related liver diseases; Hepatitis B; Hepatitis B virus; Hepatocellular carcinoma; Humans; Infections; Infectious Diseases; Insomnia; Liver cancer; Liver cirrhosis; Liver diseases; Liver Neoplasms - epidemiology; Male; Males; Mental depression; Patients; Personal income; Psychiatry and Psychology; Regression analysis; Sex differences; Sex Factors; Sleep; Sleep disorders; Variables; China; HBV-related liver diseases; Demographic; Gender difference
• ISSN: 2167-8359; 2167-8359
• DOI: 10.7717/peerj.13828

The gender differences in demographic and clinical characteristics were examined in patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related liver diseases. Overall, 634 patients (44.7 ± 13.8 years) were consecutively included. Data of demographic and clinical characteristics were collected during an assessment interview. Comparisons between male and female patients in terms of demographic and clinical data were carried out using univariate analyses. The independent associations between the demographic and clinical variables and gender were examined with either logistic regression or analysis of covariance as appropriate. The study sample consisted of 452 male and 182 female patients. Multiple logistic regression analyses revealed that being employed (OR = 3.4), personal monthly income <3,000 yuan (OR = 0.3), being current alcohol users (OR = 6.4), Cirrhosis (OR = 5.9), Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) (OR = 8.5) and having less severe insomnia (OR = 0.6) were independently associated with male gender. The analysis of covariance revealed that after controlling for other potential confounding variables, later onset of HBV-related diseases (  = 4.5,  = 0.03) and older age (  = 6.7,  = 0.009) were independently associated with male gender. Given the significant clinical differences in male and female patients with HBV-related liver diseases, more attention should be given to gender-specific treatment and prevention for this population.