¿Solicitan las mujeres más consultas al área médica que los hombre? / Do women demand to be assisted at medical clinics more often than me?

Introducción: Las peculiaridades de los usuarios del sistema sanitario público español han sido evaluadas en sus distintos aspectos, sobre todo, en atención primaria y urgencias. Sin embargo, las características epidemiológicas de los pacientes que acuden a las consultas externas de las distintas especialidades lo han sido menos. Pacientes y método: Se analizó la procedencia, el origen, la edad y el sexo de todas las solicitudes de primera cita para las consultas externas del área médica de nuestro hospital (medicina interna, cardiología, digestivo y neumología) durante el año 2002. Resultados: El 53,4% de las citas fueron generadas por mujeres que representaron el 53,8% de la población demandante. Éstas solicitaron más citas que los varones con relación a la población de referencia en atención primaria, en el medio urbano y en los pacientes menores de 60 años. El área urbana generó un porcentaje de citas superior a la del área rural. No se observó un mayor índice de frecuentación entre las mujeres respecto a los varones pero sí en los pacientes procedentes del medio urbano respecto al medio rural. Conclusiones: En nuestra área de referencia se observa una mayor demanda sanitaria de la población femenina, aunque ésta va a depender de factores tales como la edad, la localidad de procedencia y el origen de la solicitud de asistencia

Background: Different features of the users of the Spanish Public Health System have been previously assessed, specially in General Practice and Hospital Emergency Departments. Nevertheless, the epidemiological characteristics of those patients who attend to specialised clinics have not been so thoroughly evaluated. Patients and methods: The referee of the demand, the place of residence, the age and the sex of patients were all analysed for the, first visits, at the Medical Department clinics (Internal Medicine, Cardiology, Gastroenterology, Pneumology) in our hospital, during 2002. Results: A total of 7,486 demands for attention (53.3% were women) were asked for by 5,841 patients (52.8%) were women. When analysing the variable ,place of residence, we find women asked for more frequently than men, in the categories of General Practice Department and age less than 60 years. Those patients coming from urban areas were more in percentage than those coming from rural areas. Whereas the, index of frequency, was higher in women than in men, however, there were no differences between urban and rural areas. Conclusion: In our targeted population we have observed a higher demand for medical clinics in women, though the actual demand will depend on factors such as age, place of residence and the referee

[Do women demand to be assisted at medical clinics more often than men?]. / Solicitan las mujeres más consultas al área médica que los hombres?

BACKGROUND: Different features of the users of the Spanish Public Health System have been previously assessed, specially in General Practice and Hospital Emergency Departments. Nevertheless, the epidemiological characteristics of those patients who attend to specialised clinics have not been so thoroughly evaluated. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The referee of the demand, the place of residence, the age and the sex of patients were all analysed for the ,first visits, at the Medical Department clinics (Internal Medicine, Cardiology, Gastroenterology, Pneumology) in our hospital, during 2002. RESULTS: A total of 7,486 demands for attention (53.3% were women) were asked for by 5,841 patients (52.8%) were women. When analysing the variable, place of residence, we find women asked for more frequently than men, in the categories of General Practice Department and age less than 60 years. Those patients coming from urban areas were more in percentage than those coming from rural areas. Whereas the, index of frequency, was higher in women than in men, however, there were no differences between urban and rural areas. CONCLUSION: In our targeted population we have observed a higher demand for medical clinics in women, though the actual demand will depend on factors such as age, place of residence and the referee.