A systematic review and meta-analysis of sex- and gender-based differences in presentation severity and outcomes in adults undergoing major vascular surgery

Abstract

Background: Studies have investigated the effects of gender on vascular surgery care. However, to the best of our knowledge, no comprehensive synthesis of the literature has been performed on the presentation severity and postoperative outcomes for abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs), carotid artery stenosis (CAS), peripheral artery disease (PAD), and type B aortic dissection (TBAD). We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of the sex and gender differences in the presentation severity and outcomes for patients who had undergone major vascular surgery.

Methods: The MEDLINE, Embase, and Cochrane CENTRAL databases were searched from their inception to December 2020. All observational studies and randomized controlled trials that had evaluated the gender differences in presentation severity or outcomes for patients who had undergone open or endovascular AAA or TBAD repair, carotid endarterectomy or stenting, or lower extremity bypass or angioplasty were included. The presentation severity was defined as follows: AAA (symptomatic or ruptured vs asymptomatic), carotid artery disease (symptomatic vs asymptomatic), PAD (chronic limb-threatening ischemia [CLTI] vs claudication), and TBAD (complicated vs uncomplicated). The postoperative outcomes included long-term mortality, stroke, amputation, revascularization, and graft and/or stent thrombosis. A random effects model was used to derive the odds ratios (ORs), risk ratios (RRs), and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

Results: A total of 236 studies met the inclusion criteria for our systematic review. Of the 236 studies, 86 (n = 2,099,534 patients), 62 (n = 2,300,888 patients), 28 (n = 2,394,143 patients), and 4 (n = 4525 patients) had evaluated the effects of gender on the outcomes for patients with AAA, CAS, PAD, and TBAD, respectively. The female patients were more likely to have presented with a ruptured AAA (OR, 1.18; 95% CI, 1.09-1.28) and CLTI (OR, 1.10; 95% CI, 1.02-1.19) than were the male patients. The all-cause mortality for those with an AAA (RR, 1.35; 95% CI, 1.20-1.52) and those with PAD (RR, 1.14; 95% CI, 1.05-1.23) was higher for the women. However, the female patients with CAS had had lower all-cause mortality (RR, 0.85; 95% CI, 0.76-0.94). No sex differences were found in the TBAD outcomes.

Conclusions: We found that female patients who had undergone vascular surgery were associated with more severe disease at presentation, with a greater proportion of ruptured AAAs and CLTI. This potentially contributes to the higher mortality rates for female patients with AAAs and PAD compared with male patients. Future studies are needed to evaluate the reasons for these disparities, and greater efforts are required to support women in receiving more timely vascular surgical care.

Keywords: Abdominal; Aortic aneurysm; Carotid artery disease; Health status disparities; Peripheral artery disease; Social determinants of health; Socioeconomic factors; Vascular surgical procedures.