E-Mail karger@karger.com Blood Purif 2013;36:231–236 DOI: 10.1159/000356362 Gender Differences in the Quality of Life of Patients with Liver Cirrhosis Related to Hepatitis C after Liver Transplantation Tonino Bianco d Umberto Cillo b Piero Amodio c Giacomo Zanus b Annalisa Salari d Daniele Neri b Giancarlo Bombonato c Sami Schiff c Giovannella Baggio a Claudio Ronco e, f Alessandra Brocca e, f Sachin Soni f Lina Minazzato d a Study Center of National Health and Gender Medicine, Padua Operating Unit, b Unit of Hepatobiliary Surgery, c Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, and d Antalgic Therapy, Institute of Anesthesiology and Reanimation, University of Padua, Padua, e Department of Nephrology, Dialysis and Transplantation, San Bortolo Hospital, and f International Renal Research Institute Vicenza (IRRIV), Vicenza, Italy Introduction The diagnosis of chronic liver disease has important implications on the patient’s life, as it often marks the be- ginning of frequent medical checkups and treatment. It also involves the formalities related to enrolment into the liver transplant waiting list. In addition to the clinical ef- fects of the liver disease, the psychological stress related to the continuous monitoring and assessments can affect health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The World Health Organization (WHO) refers to ‘qual- ity of life’ as an individual’s perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, stan- dards and concerns [1]. In this sense, the HRQoL is defined as the set of physical, mental and social diseases assessed by somatic symptoms, psychological status and social in- teractions from the perspective of the patient, regardless of their medical condition. The international scientific com- munity is increasingly interested in the QoL concept, par- ticularly for the patients with chronic diseases. QoL studies can involve many different factors, ranging from the evalu- ation of the different effects of different diseases on daily Key Words Gender differences · Hepatitis C · Liver transplantation · Pain perception · Quality of life · SF-36 Abstract Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection frequently leads to chronic liver disease, which adversely affects the quality of life (QoL) of the patient. The gender of the patient may be an important variable in the way severity of the dis- ease is perceived. The aim of our study is to evaluate the ef- fect of the gender variable on QoL in HCV-positive patients. Methods: This study included a total of 52 patients (26 men and 26 women) who completed a 1-year follow-up after liver transplantation. QoL was assessed using the SF-36 question- naire. Results: Male subjects have significantly higher scores on physical role functioning, bodily pain and physical activ- ity compared with females. Females have a better QoL com- pared to males with regard to the emotional state and men- tal health. Conclusions: These results show a significant ef- fect of the gender variable on QoL in HCV patients. © 2013 S. Karger AG, Basel Published online: December 20, 2013 Claudio Ronco, MD Department Nephrology, Dialysis and Transplantation International Renal Research Institute Vicenza (IRRIV), San Bortolo Hospital Viale Rodolfi, 37, IT–36100 Vicenza (Italy) E-Mail cronco  @  goldnet.it © 2013 S. Karger AG, Basel 0253–5068/13/0364–0231$38.00/0 www.karger.com/bpu