Background: Hymenoptera venom allergy (HVA) has a prevalence of 3% in adults. Although patients have no ongoing symptoms, they often suffer from an impairment of their psychological well-being and quality of life. Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze sex-specific differences regarding the psychological burden caused by this allergy and handling of the emergency medication. Method: Study participants filled out a questionnaire including sociodemographic and disease-specific characteristics, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Score (HADS), and theoretical knowledge about the emergency medication set (EMS). Additionally, an objective structured clinical examination was used to assess practical knowledge and handling of the EMS. Results: Fifty-six patients were included (55.4% females). Female patients showed higher subjective anxiety levels due to HVA compared to men (mean 7.2 vs. 4.6, p = 0.0003). Furthermore, the HADS revealed that women had a significant higher anxiety level, especially after Mueller grade I–II anaphylactic reactions (mean 6.3 vs. 2.8, p = 0.0134). This was associated with a higher theoretical but not practical knowledge about their disease. On the other hand, males were less inclined to carry the emergency medication “always” or “almost always” (56 vs. 87.1%, p = 0.0015) but showed higher self-assurance in using it (mean 7.3 vs. 6.1, p = 0.0446). Conclusions: This clinical study provides evidence for sex differences in coping with HVA. The results suggest that females should be monitored more closely for allergy-associated anxiety symptoms, while men need more encouragement to carry the emergency medication.
Int Arch Allergy Immunol

中文翻译：

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患有昆虫毒液过敏的成年人的性别差异，包括心理困扰，对紧急药物的态度以及对疾病的事实知识。

背景：膜翅目毒液过敏（HVA）在成人中的患病率为3％。尽管患者没有持续的症状，但他们经常遭受心理健康和生活质量的损害。目的：本研究的目的是分析有关由这种过敏和急救药物处理引起的心理负担的性别差异。方法：研究参与者填写了一份问卷，包括社会人口统计学和疾病特定特征，医院焦虑和抑郁评分（HADS）以及有关急诊药物组（EMS）的理论知识。此外，使用客观的结构化临床检查来评估EMS的实践知识和处理。结果：包括五十六名患者（女性的55.4％）。与男性相比，女性患者因HVA表现出更高的主观焦虑水平（平均7.2比4.6，p = 0.0003）。此外，HADS还显示出妇女的焦虑水平明显升高，尤其是在Mueller I–II级过敏反应后（平均6.3对2.8，p = 0.0134）。这与他们疾病的更高的理论知识而不是实践知识有关。另一方面，男性不太愿意“总是”或“几乎总是”携带紧急药物（56 vs. 87.1％，p = 0.0015），但使用它时表现出更高的自信（平均7.3 vs. 6.1，p） = 0.0446）。结论：这项临床研究为应对HVA提供了性别差异的证据。结果表明，应更密切地监测女性的变态反应相关的焦虑症状，而男性则需要更多的鼓励来携带紧急药物。
Int Arch过敏免疫