A research team conducted a retrospective cohort study using the VA Corporate Data Warehouse to compare prosthesis prescription rates and time to prescription between men and women veterans. They found that women were less likely to receive a prosthesis prescription and a longer time to prescription. The disparity was most extreme among women who had been diagnosed with major depressive disorder.
The researchers included 2,862 individuals who met the study criteria, with 1,690 (60 percent) prescribed a qualifying prosthesis. Men were more likely to receive a prosthesis prescription than women at 59 percent versus 45 percent. This difference was observed primarily among those with a diagnosis of major depressive disorder. In this subgroup, the odds of men receiving a prosthesis over women was over three times. Men had a mean shorter time to prescription compared to women (112 ± 72 versus 136 ± 79 days).
Depression in women negatively impacts their prosthesis prescription rates and time to prescription compared to men, the study’s author concluded. They suggested that providers identify at-risk patients early and consider targeted interventions to address depression during the pre-operative and immediate post-operative phases and that future research should continue to work to identify gender-specific needs that exacerbate disparity.
The study, “The effect of depression on prosthesis prescription in men and women who have undergone a lower limb amputation,” was published in Disability and Rehabilitation.
