Morbo Sacro¨ or ¨Sacred Disease¨ and the ¨ataques¨ or epileptic seizures with the term ¨epilambaneim¨ which means ¨attack¨, ¨ surprise¨, ¨ seize of¨, or ¨ fall on itself¨, from which derives the term through which it is currently known: Epilepsy. Hippocrates fi rst described it in his book "The Sacred Disease" [5]. According to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), epilepsy is, in turn, a global public health problem and a clinical condition with self-referral in up to 50% of cases. According to reports from the World Health Organization (WHO), an estimated 50 to 69 million people suffer from this disease, the majority living in developing countries, where the quality of life is worse and the incidence of infections of the nervous system central nervous system (CNS) is greater, and it can be asserted that epilepsy affects 1-2% of the population [6-10]. This disease can also be a cause of death, a danger that is not taken into account and could be preventable, and can It is currently considered by the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) and the International Bureau for Epilepsy (IBE), as a disease and not a disorder [3]. The most frequent age of onset is childhood and adolescence, however, as longevity increases on the planet, it has been seen that the incidence and prevalence of this disorder also increases in the elderly [4].

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Introduction: Previous epidemiological studies clearly demonstrated gender differences in the patterns of mental illness. As a matter of fact, female suffer more from depressive and anxiety disorders, while male suffer more from addictive behaviour and psychotic disorders. Objectives/aims: The present study was elaborated by the Psychiatric Department Quality Commission of the Coimbra University Hospital in order to identify gender differences in socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of patients that were hospitalized from January to June 2011. Methods: We analyzed 417 clinical files and gathered socio-demographic information (gender, age, marital status and job) and clinical information (diagnosis and hospitalization's length). Statistical analysis was performed with SPSS program, using the chi-square's and Mann-Whitney's tests. Results: 53% of the inpatients were women. It was also observed that women were older (p = 0.021), more frequently married and widowed (p < 0.001), were less associated with compulsory admission (p < 0.001), had shorter hospitalizations (p = 0.024) and were more often diagnosed with adjustment reaction and bipolar disorder (p < 0.001), while men were younger (p < 0.001), more frequently single (p < 0.001), more frequently unemployed (p < 0.001), were more subject to compulsory admission (p < 0.001) and were more often diagnosed with addictive disorders and schizophrenia. Conclusions: These results are consistent with the existing literature and enable us to organize the services'conditions according to the needs of our psychiatric inpatient population.