Antioxidant vitamins could lower the breast cancer risk in Korean women

Married women with spondyloarthropathy fare worse on quality-of-life issues
(Rheumatology-November 24, 2003)

"The objectives of this study were to assess the quality of marital life (QML) in patients with spondyloarthropathy (SpA) in Korea and to identify possible gender differences in QML in patients with SpA. This was a case-control study at the outpatient unit of a tertiary care medical center. Subjects were the patient group, composed of 47 married patients with SpA, and a comparison group composed of 47 healthy married adults with similar demographic characteristics," scientists in South Korea report.

"QML was measured using the Marital Satisfaction Inventory, Revised. As a result, QML was similar for both the male patients and the healthy men. However, the female patients had higher scores on the global distress scale (59.8±6.3 vs. 53.8±5.6, p=0.021) and the aggression scale (50.5±7.9 vs. 44.3±5.4, p=0.016) than the female comparison group," wrote S.Y. Yim and colleagues, Hanyang University, Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases.

"At the same time, the female patients demonstrated higher scores on the global distress scale (59.8±6.3 vs. 54.7±7.2, p=0.035) than the male patients."

"In conclusion, QML in Korean males with SpA was not greatly different from that of the male comparison group. However, QML in the female patients was characterized by higher global distress and a higher probability of aggression from their partner, but no significant sexual dissatisfaction," said Yim and coauthors.

Yim and colleagues published their study in Clinical Rheumatology (Quality of marital life in Korean patients with spondyloarthropathy. Clin Rheumatol, 2003;22(3):208-212).

For more information, contact J.B. Jun, Hanyang University, Hospital Rheumat Diseases, Seoul 133792, South Korea.

The information in this article comes under the major subject areas of Rheumatology, Epidemiology, and Women's Health. This article was prepared by Health & Medicine Week editors from staff and other reports.