Gender differences in outcomes of low birth weight and preterm neonates: the male disadvantage

Various studies conducted worldwide have shown that male neonates have higher rates of mortality and morbidity in the perinatal period compared with females. However, there has been only one study from India on this subject. Therefore, this study was conducted to establish the difference in mortality between males and females among neonates born with two established risk factors of septicaemia--low birth weight (<2.5 kg) and preterm birth (<37 weeks). One hundred and fifty consecutive neonates which were either preterm or had low birth weight were recruited after obtaining informed consent from the parents. Blood culture was done, and the bacterial isolates were identified by standard protocol. Statistically significant association was found between male gender and mortality among culture-positive neonates. Therefore, results of the present study indicate that preterm or low birth weight male neonates have higher likelihood of mortality compared with their female counterparts in the Indian scenario.