Fellinger M, et al. – The present inquiry was set to assess whether differences in length of stay and frequency of inpatient episodes, according to ICD–10 bipolar disorder (BD)–subgroups, exist between men and women. Findings revealed relevant gender differences regarding inpatient treatment patterns, as women were overrepresented in all BD–subgroups. Regardless of equal life time prevalence, severe mood episodes lead more often to hospitalisations in women.

Methods

• For the purpose of this study, all episodes of a manic (F31.0-2), depressive (F31.3-5) or mixed (F31.6) subtype of BD during an inpatient stay in an Austrian hospital in the period of 2001–2014 were included.
• Information on episodes was given by the national statistics agency.
• Weekly admission rates per 100,000 individuals were calculated by directly age-standardized rates.

Results

• The database involved 60,607 admissions (35.8% men).
• It was observed in the findings that the number of inpatient episodes was significantly higher (p < 0.001) in women in all BD subgroups.
• It was noted that average length of stay in manic (p < 0.001) and depressive (p < 0.001) episodes was shorter in women compared to men.
• According to the findings obtained, no difference could be found for mixed episodes.