Table 2.
Gender differences in mental and physical health comorbidities and self-reported health status and quality of life between the 123 homeless women and the 580 homeless men with schizophrenia (SZ) or bipolar disorders (BD)
| Variables | Total sample N=703 N (%) or M (SD) |
Men N=580 N (%) or M (SD) |
Women N=123 N (%) or M (SD) |
AOR or β* (95% CI) |
p-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diagnosis based on the DSM-IV-TR criteria | |||||
| SZ | 487 (69.3%) | 418 (72.1%) | 69 (56.1%) | 0.48 (0.33–0.69) | <0.001 |
| BD | 216 (30.7%) | 162 (27.9%) | 54 (43.9%) | ||
| Current psychiatric comorbidities (MINI) | |||||
| Major depressive episode | 388 (55.2%) | 316 (54.7%) | 72 (59.0%) | 1.24 (0.89–1.73) | 0.207 |
| Manic episode | 117 (17.2%) | 95 (17.0%) | 22 (18.3%) | 1.03 (0.91–1.16) | 0.692 |
| Hypomanic episode | 24 (3.5%) | 20 (3.6%) | 4 (3.4%) | 0.70 (0.21–2.31) | 0.556 |
| Posttraumatic stress disorder | 109 (18.0%) | 83 (16.4%) | 26 (25.7%) | 1.96 (1.23–3.11) | <0.001 |
| High suicide risk** | 190 (43.6%) | 148 (41.8%) | 42 (51.2%) | 2.40 (1.53–3.75) | <0.001 |
| Alcohol dependence | 274 (39.3%) | 227 (39.5%) | 47 (38.5%) | 0.89 (0.52–1.52) | 0.682 |
| Substance dependence*** | 322 (46.3%) | 272 (47.4%) | 50 (41.3%) | 0.78 (0.51–1.21) | 0.260 |
| Alcohol abuse | 44 (6.4%) | 39 (6.8%) | 5 (4.2%) | 0.46 (0.17–1.28) | 0.138 |
| Substance abuse*** | 70 (10.3%) | 58 (10.3%) | 12 (10.1%) | 0.83 (0.35–2.00) | 0.677 |
| Physical health | |||||
| Updated vaccinations | 391 (77.6%) | 336 (79.1%) | 55 (69.6%) | 0.63 (0.35–1.12) | 0.630 |
| Need dental care | 470 (71.8%) | 389 (72.0%) | 81 (71.5%) | 1.14 (0.69–1.88) | 0.598 |
| Had fractures (past 6 months) | 54 (8.2%) | 41 (7.5%) | 13 (11.3%) | 1.37 (1.12–1.69) | 0.002 |
| Had sprains (past 6 months) | 80 (12.3%) | 54 (10.0%) | 26 (22.6%) | 3.30 (2.29–4.74) | <0.001 |
| Had ectoparasitosis (past 6 months) | 79 (12.1%) | 64 (11.8%) | 15 (13.2%) | 1.10 (0.50–2.43) | 0.808 |
| Self-reported health status | |||||
| MCSI score | 21.4 (11.5) | 21.1 (11.4) | 22.8 (11.7) | 1.37 (−0.64 to 3.38) | 0.182 |
| Psychotic symptoms | 13.5 (8.4) | 13.4 (8.4) | 14.2 (8.4) | 0.75 (−1.43 to 2.92) | 0.502 |
| Depressive symptoms | 7.1 (3.6) | 6.9 (3.5) | 7.8 (3.8) | 0.59 (0.32 to 0.86) | <0.001 |
| Impulsivity | 1.1 (1.8) | 1.1 (1.7) | 1.1 (1.9) | 0.12 (−0.08 to 0.32) | 0.230 |
| PCS SF-36 score | 50.8 (10.6) | 51.3 (10.3) | 47.9 (11.4) | −3.04 (−3.07 to −2.38) | <0.001 |
| MCS SF-36 score | 34.8 (9.7) | 35.0 (9.5) | 33.7 (10.8) | −1.35 (−2.88 to 0.18) | 0.084 |
| S-QOL 18 score | 47.5 (17.5) | 48.3 (17.3) | 43.4 (17.7) | −4.53 (−5.89 to −3.15) | <0.001 |
Notes:
Regression coefficients included AORs and standardized beta with 95% CI (men = reference). Each coefficient was adjusted for main confounding factors: age, marital status, education level, age, age of first homelessness, having SZ or BD, and a random effect for clusters (n=4 towns).
High suicide risk was defined when the MINI score was >17.
Substance abuse is any pattern of substance use that results in repeated adverse social consequences related to drug taking. Substance dependence is characterized by physiological and behavioral symptoms related to substance use. N (%) – effective (percentage); M (SD) – mean (standard deviation). Values in bold indicate a statistically significant difference between genders (p<0.01).
Abbreviations: AOR, adjusted odds ratio; CI, confidence interval; SZ, schizophrenia; BD, bipolar disorder; MINI, Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview; MCSI, Modified Colorado Symptom Index; SF-36, Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey; PCS, physical composite score; MCS, mental composite score; S-QoL, Schizophrenia Quality of Life Scale.