Sex Disparity in the Access of Elderly Patients to Acute Stroke Care

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Sex differences in the management of acute coronary symptoms are well documented. We sought to determine whether sex disparities exist in acute stroke management, particularly with regard to early hospital admission and thrombolytic therapy. METHODS: We analyzed a prospective, countywide, hospital-based stroke registry. Between 1999 and 2005, all cases with a final diagnosis of cerebral infarction (ICD-10 I63) or intracerebral hemorrhage (ICD-10 I61) were selected. Datasets with missing values for sex and time to admission, as well as datasets of patients transferred between hospitals in the acute phase, were excluded. Main outcome measures were the probability of being admitted within the first 3 hours of stroke onset and being treated with thrombolytic agents for both women and men, after adjustment for age, prestroke disability, severity of clinical symptoms, vascular risk factors, and final diagnosis. RESULTS: Fifty-three thousand four hundred fourteen patients were included (49.3% female; mean+/-SD age, 72.1+/-12.5 years). Women had a 10% lower chance of being admitted within the first 3 hours than men (odds ratio=0.902, 95% CI=0.860 to 0.945, P<0.001). This chance further decreased in elderly women. Similarly, the chance of a female stroke patient being treated with thrombolysis was 13% lower than that of a male patient (odds ratio=0.867, 95% CI=0.782 to 0.960, P=0.006). For patients admitted within the 3-hour time window, the chance of being treated with thrombolysis was similar for women and men (odds ratio=0.915, 95% CI=0.809 to 1.035, P=0.156). CONCLUSIONS: We identified sex disparities in acute stroke management in terms of early hospital admission and thrombolytic treatment. This is best explained by the sociodemographic fact that "surviving spouses" are more likely to be women than men. Attempts to overcome disadvantages in their access to acute stroke care should focus on increased social support.