Clinical characteristics and outcomes in women and men hospitalized for coronavirus disease 2019 in New Orleans

Objectives Determine if sex differences exist in clinical characteristics and outcomes of adults hospitalized for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in a US healthcare system. Design Case series study. Setting and participants Sequentially hospitalized adults admitted for COVID-19 at two tertiary care academic hospitals in New Orleans, LA, between 27 February and 15 July 2020. Measures and outcomes Measures included demographics, comorbidities, presenting symptoms, and laboratory results. Outcomes included intensive care unit admission (ICU), invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV), and in-hospital death. Results We included 776 patients (median age 60.5 years; 61.4% women, 75% non-Hispanic Black). Rates of ICU, IMV, and death were similar in both sexes. In women versus men, obesity (63.8 vs 41.6%, P < 0.0001), hypertension (77.6 vs 70.1%, P = 0.02), diabetes (38.2 vs 31.8%, P = 0.06), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD, 22.1 vs 15.1%, P = 0.015), and asthma (14.3 vs 6.9%, P = 0.001) were more prevalent. More women exhibited dyspnea (61.2 vs 53.7%, P = 0.04), fatigue (35.7 vs 28.5%, P = 0.03), and digestive symptoms (39.3 vs 32.8%, P = 0.06) than men. Obesity was associated with IMV at a lower BMI (> 35) in women, but the magnitude of the effect of morbid obesity (BMI >= 40) was similar in both sexes. COPD was associated with ICU (adjusted OR (aOR), 2.6; 95%CI, 1.5-4.3) and IMV (aOR, 1.8; 95%CI, 1.2-3.1) in women only. Diabetes (aOR, 2.6; 95%CI, 1.2-2.9), chronic kidney disease (aOR, 2.2; 95%CI, 1.3-5.2), elevated neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (aOR, 2.5; 95%CI, 1.4-4.3), and elevated ferritin (aOR, 3.6; 95%CI, 1.7-7.3) were independent predictors of death in women only. In contrast, elevated D-dimer was an independent predictor of ICU (aOR, 7.3; 95%CI, 2.7-19.5), IMV (aOR, 6.5; 95%CI, 2.1-20.4), and death (aOR, 4.5; 95%CI, 1.2-16.4) in men only. Conclusions This study highlights sex disparities in clinical determinants of severe outcomes in COVID-19 patients that may inform management and prevention strategies to ensure gender equity.

Automated summary

This study found differences in clinical characteristics and outcomes of COVID-19 patients based on gender, with women more commonly presenting with obesity, hypertension, diabetes, and respiratory symptoms, and men showing higher risk factors for severe outcomes such as elevated D-dimer levels. These findings may help tailor management and prevention strategies for better gender-specific outcomes.