Abstract

Introduction: Biological sex is known to impact cerebrovascular disease characteristics and clinical outcomes. While in intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) it is known that biological sex impacts ICH incidence, it is less clear whether biological sex impacts ICH outcomes. Hypothesis: Female sex will be associated with ICH characteristics and clinical outcomes. Methods: Spontaneous ICH patients enrolled into a prospective observational ICH cohort study between 2009-2020 were assessed. Patients with prior anticoagulant use and secondary etiologies of ICH were excluded from the analysis. Female sex was assessed as the primary exposure variable. Primary analyses assessed relationships of female sex with radiographic outcomes: ICH location, ICH volume, hematoma expansion (>33% and/or >6mL). Secondary analyses assessed relationships of female sex with clinical outcomes: poor discharge neurological outcome (modified Rankin 4-6), and poor discharge disposition (skilled nursing facility, hospice, or inpatient death). Separate multivariable regression models assessed these relationships after adjusting for relevant covariates. Results: Of 504 ICH patients analyzed, mean age was 67 (SD 14.9), 46% were female, and median baseline ICH volume was 14.6 mL (IQR 4.98-35.0). In primary analyses, female sex was not associated with ICH volume or hematoma expansion but was associated with lobar ICH location (adjusted OR 1.72, 95% CI: 1.09-2.70). In secondary analyses, female sex was not associated with poor discharge neurological outcomes (adjusted OR 1.40, 95% CI: 0.74-2.64) after adjusting for race, ICH severity, and ICH location. However, there was an association of female sex with poor discharge disposition (adjusted OR 1.91, 95% CI: 1.15-3.16) after adjusting for similar covariates. Conclusions: While there were no clear intergroup sex differences in ICH severity or neurological outcomes, female sex was associated with worse discharge disposition. Further work is required to clarify whether these disposition differences are due to disease specific complications, characteristics, or if there are other social disparities responsible for these outcome differences.

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