The effect of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) according to gender on health-related quality of life

Abstract

Aim: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the changes in health-related quality of life of hospitalized patients with the diagnosis of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) according to gender. Material and Method: The medical records of 77 patients (37 females and 40 males) who were hospitalized for COVID-19 were examined. Sociodemographic features including age, gender, marital status, comorbid diseases, duration of hospitalization, the period after discharge, symptoms of COVID-19 disease were analyzed. Short Form 36 (SF-36) was applied to all patients for evaluating the health-related quality of life pre and post COVID-19. Results: The median scores of physical function, bodily pain, vitality, social functioning and general health perceptions before COVID-19 were statistically significantly higher than the scores after COVID-19 in both gender. Social functioning and the scores were lower in females than males for pre and post COVID-19 period and the differences were statistically significant. Conclusions: The findings of this study revealed that health-related quality of life is affected by COVID-19 for both genders, mostly females.