Sex differences in sepsis hospitalisations and outcomes in older women and men: A prospective cohort study

To examine the association of sex with hospitalisation due to sepsis and related outcomes. Prospective cohort study of 264,678 adults, average age 62.7 years at recruitment (2006–2009) in Australia. Participants were followed for sepsis hospitalisation identified using the International Classification of Diseases coding. Outcomes included sex differences in the risk of an incident sepsis hospitalisation, mortality, length of ICU and hospital stay and readmissions during the following year. Over 2,070,343 years of follow-up there were 12,912 sepsis hospitalisations, 59.6% in men. Age-standardised risk of hospitalisation was higher in men versus women (10.37 vs 6.77 per 1,000 person years; age-adjusted HR 1.58; 95% CI 1.53–1.59) and did not attenuate after adjusting for sociodemographics, health behaviours and co-morbidities. Relative risks were similar for sepsis-related ICU admissions (adjusted HR 1.72; 95% CI 1.57–1.88). Death at one year was more common in men than women (39.3% vs 33.7% p