Gender differences in quality of life for post coronary artery bypass grafting patients in Taiwan

The purpose of this study was to investigate gender differences in quality of life for post Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (CABG) patients in Taiwan. Cross-sectional survey research design and purposive sampling were used in this study, for which 100 subjects, including 50 males and 50 females, were recruited from a medical center in northern Taiwan. Quality of life was measured by Short Form 36, while gender role function and demographic data were collected using a demographic questionnaire. An Independent t test and one way ANOVA were employed to analyze data. Study results showed significant differences in quality of life between genders. There was a statistically significant difference in the physical component summary score, post-CABG, between males (M=45.5) and females (M=40.1, p< .05), which indicates that men demonstrated higher physical functioning than women. Within this component, the greatest difference between the genders was noted in sub-items related to physical functions. Men and women achieved mean scores of 42.2 and 37.9, respectively (p< .05). For the mental component summary section, sub-items related to vitality also demonstrated statistical significance; with men achieving a mean score of 49.6 and women a mean score of 45.2 (p< .05). Of interest, post-CABG patients who had greater role responsibilities, such as taking care of elderly or doing housework, obtained significantly higher quality of life scores.