Gender differences in mental disorders

Medicine and human health for the greater part of the history of mankind were seen through the prism of men’s health. Currently observed trends in feminisation of the population, especially in the case of older generations, encourage a change in the current approach to the picture of health and disease. The constantly growing number of reports of gender differences in many different disorders urges the recognition of gender and gender-specific symptoms in their image. These differences often go beyond incidence rate, progression, or prognosis, and also include factors affecting susceptibility, detection, and acceptance of mental illness.

In this paper, we present current findings on the differences between genders in affective disorders, anxiety, schizophrenia, personality disorders, autism spectrum disorders, and addiction. The paper also presents the biological and socio-cultural background of observed differences.

The studies summarised in this paper reveal gender differences in each described group of disorders. Studies that focus on gender discrepancies of mental disorders are still relatively small, and the differences observed are often not reflected in the diagnostic scales used and the clinical criteria of the DSM or ICD. Nevertheless, the analysis of available data on the gender-specific aspects of psychiatric disorders can help to understand their epidemiology better and make more appropriate clinical decisions and decide on more appropriate treatment.