Search

Sex-specific factors are implicated in pulmonary embolism (PE) presentation in young patients, as indicated by increased risk in pregnancy. Whether sex differences exist in PE presentation, comorbidities, and symptomatology in older adults, the age group in which most PEs occur, remains unknown. We identified older adults (aged ≥65 years) with PE in a large international PE registry replete with information about relevant clinical characteristics (RIETE registry, 2001-2021). To provide national data from the United States, we assessed sex differences in clinical characteristics and risk factors of Medicare beneficiaries with PE (2001-2019). The majority of older adults with PE in RIETE (19,294/33,462, 57.7%) and in the Medicare database (551,492/948,823, 58.7%) were women. Compared with men, women with PE less frequently had atherosclerotic diseases, lung disease, cancer, or unprovoked PE, but more frequently had varicose veins, depression, prolonged immobility, or history of hormonal therapy ( p  < 0.001 for all). Women less often presented with chest pain (37.3 vs. 40.6%) or hemoptysis (2.4 vs. 5.6%) but more often with dyspnea (84.6 vs. 80.9%) ( p  < 0.001 for all). Measures of clot burden, PE risk stratification, and use of imaging modalities were comparable between women and men. PE is more common in elderly women than in men. Cancer and cardiovascular disease are more common in men, whereas transient provoking factors including trauma, immobility, or hormone therapy are more common in elderly women with PE. Whether such differences correlate with disparities in treatment or differences in short- or long-term clinical outcomes warrants further investigation., Competing Interests: B.B. reports that he is a consulting expert, on behalf of the plaintiff, for litigation related to two brand models of IVC filters. G.P. has received research support from Bristol-Myers Squibb/Pfizer Alliance, Bayer, Janssen, Alexion, Amgen, and Boston Scientific Corporation, and consulting fees from Bristol-Myers Squibb/Pfizer Alliance, Boston Scientific Corporation, Janssen, NAMSA, Prairie Education and Research Cooperative, Boston Clinical Research Institute, and Amgen. R.P.R. reports research grant support to her institution from Janssen and Bristol Myers Squibb and consultant/advisory fees from Janssen, Bristol Myers Squibb, Dova, and Inari, all outside the scope of this work. M.L.O'D. has received grants via Brigham and Women's Hospital from Amgen, Novartis, AstraZeneca, Janssen, Intarcia, Merck, and Pfizer; and honoraria from Novartis, AstraZeneca, Amgen, and Janssen. L.B. has received personal fees and nonfinancial support from Aspen, Bayer, Bristol Myers Squibb, Pfizer, and LEO Pharma, and nonfinancial support from Daiichi-Sankyo. S.M.B. receives unencumbered salary support from the Eli Lilly Canada/May Cohen Chair in Women's Health. S.Z.G. has received research support from Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol Myers Squibb, Boston Scientific, Daiichi-Sankyo, Janssen, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, and the Thrombosis Research Institute; and has received consulting fees from Bayer, Agile, Boston Scientific, and Boehringer Ingelheim. H.M.K. reports receiving personal fees from UnitedHealth, IBM Watson Health, Element Science, Aetna, Facebook, Siegfried & Jensen Law Firm, Arnold & Porter Law Firm, Martin/Baughman Law Firm, F-Prime, and the National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Beijing; being the cofounder of HugoHealth, a personal health information platform, and Refactor Health, an enterprise health care artificial intelligence–augmented data management company; receiving contracts from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, through Yale New Haven Hospital, to develop and maintain measures of hospital performance; and receiving grants from Medtronic, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Johnson & Johnson, and the Shenzhen Center for Health Information outside the submitted work. M.M. reports receiving grants from Sanofi outside the submitted work. Other authors report no disclosures., (Thieme. All rights reserved.)