Male gender is a predictor of higher mortality in hospitalized adults with COVID-19

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continues to be a global threat, with tremendous resources invested into identifying risk factors for severe COVID-19 illness. The objective of this study was to analyze the characteristics and outcomes of male compared to female adults with COVID-19 who required hospitalization within US academic centers. Using the Vizient clinical database, discharge records of adults with a diagnosis of COVID-19 between March 1, 2020 and November 30, 2020 were reviewed. Outcome measures included demographics, characteristics, length of hospital stay, rate of respiratory intubation and mechanical ventilation, and rate of in-hospital mortality of male vs female according to age, race/ethnicity, and presence of preexisting comorbidities. Among adults with COVID-19, 161,206 were male while 146,804 were female. Adult males with COVID-19 were more likely to have hypertension (62.1% vs 59.6%, p