Differences in Prosthetic Prescription Between Men and Women Veterans After Transtibial or Transfemoral Lower-Extremity Amputation: A Longitudinal Cohort Study (2005-2018).

The data came from electronic records and procedure codes, so diagnoses and prosthetic prescriptions may be misclassified. The sex field did not separate biological sex from gender identity, and transgender experiences were not assessed. Women were only 324 of 20,889 included veterans, so estimates for women, especially mediation results, are less precise. The study did not capture prosthetic training, use, or satisfaction. Results may not generalize to veterans treated outside VHA or to non-veterans. Residual confounding, nonindependent mediator effects, and overlap among mediators may remain. Marital status and pain comorbidity burden were proxies for social support and pain interference, not direct measures. Hemipelvectomy and hip disarticulation were excluded because fewer than 10 women had those procedures.

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Do not conclude that women are less likely to receive a prosthesis. Similar proportions of women and men were prescribed one, and the difference was in time to prescription.