Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is one of the common degenerative joint diseases, which is more common in the middle-aged and elderly population. It shows significant gender differences, with a significantly higher incidence rate in women than in men, seriously affecting the quality of life of patients. However, there are few research reports on the correlation between gender differences and the incidence of KOA both domestically and internationally. Therefore, this article will summarize and analyze the potential causes of gender differences related to the incidence of KOA from five aspects: hormone levels, anatomical biomechanical characteristics, genes, obesity, and exercise-muscle factors. Through a comprehensive review of research progress, the aim is to provide a theoretical basis for gender based personalized treatment of KOA in clinical practice.
Objective To investigate the current status of disease uncertainty and alexithymia in elderly hospitalized patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Methods By using the convenience sampling method, a total of 165 elderly patients with COPD were investigated by using general information questionnaire, Mishel's uncertainty in illness Scale (MUIS) and Toronto alexithymia scale (TAS-20). Results The disease course of the elderly hospitalized patients with COPD was mostly 3 - 6 years (40.0%), and most of them had 1 - 2 chronic diseases (59.4%). More than half of the elderly had a history of smoking and drinking. The severity of COPD in the elderly was moderate (57.0%), and the number of hospitalization in the year was more than 2 times (58.8%). The score of disease uncertainty in the elderly hospitalized patients with COPD was 89.49±9.45, and the score of uncertainty was the highest (36.59±4.08), followed by the lack of information (18.51±1.86). The score of alexithymia in the elderly hospitalized patients with COPD was 55.32±6.37, and the score of all dimensions was the highest (21.87±2.93), followed by affective recognition disorder (18.27±2.55). The results of correlation analysis showed that the total score and scores of each dimension were positively correlated (P<0.01). The results of multi-factor analysis showed that age and course of disease and severity of COPD were the main influencing factors of disease uncertainty in elderly hospitalized patients with COPD (P<0.05). Conclusions The elderly hospitalized patients with COPD have a moderate level of disease uncertainty and a high degree of alexithymia. Besides, the greater the disease uncertainty is, the more serious the alexithymia. Therefore, clinical doctors and nurses should pay more attention to give emotional and psychological support and education guidance to the elderly patients with COPD, in order to improve their clinical efficacy and quality of life.