Gender Differences Among Patients Hospitalized With Cirrhosis in the United States

Gender disparities exist in outcomes among patients with cirrhosis. We sought to evaluate the role of gender on hospital course and in-hospital outcomes in patients with cirrhosis to help better understand these disparities.

We analyzed data from the National Inpatient Sample (NIS), years 2009 to 2013, to identify patients with any diagnosis of cirrhosis. We calculated demographic and clinical characteristics by gender, as well as cirrhosis complications. Our primary outcome was inpatient mortality. We used logistic regression to associate baseline characteristics and cirrhosis complications with inpatient mortality.

Our cohort included 553,017 patients with cirrhosis admitted from 2009 to 2013. Women made up 39% of the cohort; median age was 57 with 66% non-Hispanic white. Women were more likely than men to have noncirrhosis comorbidities, including diabetes and hypertension but were less likely to have most cirrhosis complications, including ascites and variceal bleeding. Women were more likely than men to have acute bacterial infections (34.9% vs. 28.2%; P<0.001), and were less likely than men to die in the hospital on univariable (odds ratio, 0.88; 95% confidence interval, 0.86-0.90; P<0.001) and multivariable (odds ratio, 0.86; 95% confidence interval, 0.83-0.88; P<0.001) analysis.

In patients hospitalized with cirrhosis, women have lower rates of hepatic decompensating events and higher rates of nonhepatic comorbidities and infections, resulting in lower in-hospital mortality. Understanding differences in indications for and disposition following hospitalization may help with the development of gender-specific cirrhosis management programs to improve long-term outcomes in women and men living with cirrhosis.