Gender Differences in Sepsis Outcomes in Critical Care
Summary
Sepsis, a life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by a dysregulated host response to infection, remains a leading cause of mortality in intensive care units worldwide. Research over the past decade has revealed that biological sex influences sepsis incidence, clinical presentation and outcomes through interactions between hormonal milieu, immune regulation and age. Premenopausal women often exhibit more robust innate and adaptive immune responses, attributed in part to the immunomodulatory effects of oestrogens, whereas men may experience higher rates of certain infections and organ failure. Conversely, postmenopausal women may lose this relative advantage as oestrogen levels decline, leading to convergence or reversal of survival patterns. Beyond biology, sex-related differences in comorbidities, healthcare-seeking behaviour and resource utilisation further modulate prognosis. Understanding these multifactorial influences is essential for tailoring preventive strategies, optimising therapeutic interventions and improving equity in critical-care delivery across diverse populations.
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Gender Differences in Sepsis Outcomes in Critical Care publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in gender differences in sepsis outcomes in critical care across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Sepsis: Life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by a dysregulated host response to infection.
Septic shock: A subset of sepsis with persistent hypotension requiring vasopressors and elevated blood lactate, associated with higher mortality.
Odds ratio (OR): A measure of association comparing the odds of an event occurring in one group with the odds in another group.
Hazard ratio (HR): A metric indicating how often a particular event happens in one group compared to another over time.
Intensive care unit (ICU): A specialised hospital unit providing advanced monitoring and life-support for critically ill patients.
References
- Influence of gender on age-associated in-hospital mortality in patients with sepsis and septic shock: a prospective nationwide multicenter cohort study. Critical Care (2023).
- Sex differences in sepsis hospitalisations and outcomes in older women and men: A prospective cohort study. Journal of Infection (2022).
- Gender and survival of critically ill patients: results from the FROG-ICU study. Annals of Intensive Care (2019).
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