Table 2.
Quality of life, disease coping strategies and itch characteristics related to gender
| Variables | Women (n = 30) | Men (n = 30) | Value of t | Value of p | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean | SD | Mean | SD | |||
| QoL: | ||||||
| Symptoms | 21.57 | 4.82 | 18.07 | 3.96 | −3.07 | 0.003 |
| Emotions | 31.27 | 10.35 | 26.97 | 7.98 | −1.80 | 0.08 |
| Functioning | 33.53 | 9.49 | 30.53 | 9.02 | −1.26 | 0.21 |
| Overall | 86.37 | 21.86 | 75.57 | 18.17 | −2.08 | 0.04 |
| Disease coping strategies: | ||||||
| Helplessness/hopelessness | 12.47 | 3.92 | 11.67 | 4.00 | −0.78 | 0.43 |
| Fight spirit | 19.26 | 2.92 | 18.23 | 2.90 | −1.38 | 0.17 |
| Distraction/catastrophization | 16.27 | 3.46 | 15.10 | 3.02 | −1.39 | 0.17 |
| Itch characteristics: | ||||||
| Itch range | 1.50 | 1.01 | 1.74 | 0.94 | 0.92 | 0.36 |
| Itch severity | 2.60 | 1.48 | 2.57 | 1.61 | −0.08 | 0.93 |
| Short itch episodes | 1.07 | 1.36 | 1.13 | 1.38 | 0.19 | 0.85 |
| Long itch episodes | 0.53 | 1.17 | 0.60 | 1.33 | 0.21 | 0.84 |
| Constant itch | 0.34 | 1.27 | 0.17 | 0.92 | −0.58 | 0.56 |
| Itch-related sleeping disorders | 1.20 | 1.94 | 0.64 | 1.54 | −1.25 | 0.22 |
| Global itch | 7.20 | 4.82 | 6.83 | 4.14 | −0.32 | 0.75 |
SD – standard deviation, t–Student t-test, p – significance level