National patterns of heart failure hospitalizations and mortality by sex and age.

BACKGROUND

Earlier work has demonstrated significant sex and age disparities in ischemic heart disease. However, it remains unclear if an age or sex gap exists for heart failure (HF) patients.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Using data from the 2007-2008 Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project, we constructed hierarchic regression models to examine sex differences and age-sex interactions in HF hospitalizations and in-hospital mortality. Among 430,665 HF discharges, 51% were women and 0.3%, 27%, and 73% were aged <25, 25-64, and >64 years respectively. There were significant sex differences among HF risk factors, with a higher prevalence of coronary disease among men. Men had higher hospitalization rates for HF and in-hospital mortality across virtually all ages. The relationship between age and HF mortality appeared U-shaped; mortality rates for ages <25, 25-64, and >64 years were 2.9%, 1.4%, and 3.8%, respectively. No age-sex interaction was found for in-hospital mortality for adults >25 years old.

CONCLUSIONS

Using a large nationally representative administrative dataset we found age and sex disparities in HF outcomes. In general, men fared worse than women regardless of age. Furthermore, we found a U-shaped relationship between age and in-hospital mortality during an HF hospitalization, such that young adults have similar mortality rates to older adults. Additional studies are warranted to elucidate the patient-specific and treatment characteristics that result in these patterns.