Objective: To assess the associations of gender identity and gender role orientation with health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among persons with Parkinson’s disease (PD).

Background: Gender is a multilayered construct with several dimensions. Self-reported gender identity is most commonly used when studying gender differences in HRQoL. The influence of gender role orientation (masculine and feminine traits) on HRQoL is, instead, rarely considered.

Method: Persons with PD in the Netherlands were sampled from the PRIME-NL cohort. Participants were surveyed between March 2020 and February 2021. To assess the association of gender identity or gender role orientation [table 1] with HRQoL, we collected general demographic data, PD characteristics (PDQ-39 and SPDDS) and gender-related variables (BSRI). We assessed associations using t-test and analysis of variance and we performed multiple regression analyses.

Results: In total, 299 people completed the survey (gender identity (n): man (177), woman (122), non-binary (0); gender role (n): feminine (96), masculine (57), androgynous (43), undifferentiated (103)). Adjusting for age and disease impairment (SPDDS score), gender identity did not show a significant association with overall HRQoL (PDQ-39 index score) [table 2]. Single domain analysis showed that identifying as a woman was associated with more difficulties in mobility and bodily discomfort, whereas identifying as a man was associated with more difficulties in cognition and communication. Furthermore, an androgynous gender role significantly predicted a better overall HRQoL (B=-4.77, p=.001), compared to all the other gender roles. Single domain analysis showed that an androgynous gender role was associated with significantly lower burden in bodily discomfort (B=-9.83, p=.002), social support (B=-5.29, p=.007), stigma (B=-5.67, p=.035) and mobility (B=-5.37, p=.029) compared to all the other gender roles.

Conclusion: Our study suggests that gender role orientation, but not gender identity, distinctly correlates with overall higher HRQoL in people with PD. People with an androgynous gender role displayed a significantly higher HRQoL compared to other gender roles. The impact of gender roles on coping strategies and HRQoL should be further investigated and more explicitly addressed in people with PD.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/the-impact-of-gender-identity-and-gender-role-orientation-on-health-related-quality-of-life-in-people-with-parkinsons-disease/