Women May Be at Lower Risk for Health-Care Related Infections

A study conducted by the Columbia University School of Nursing suggests that women may be less at risk of contracting bloodstream or surgical site infections than their male counterparts.

According to researchers, the incidence of infection in thousands of hospitalized patients found the odds for women succumbing to a either problems significantly lower than men, as noted in a press release. In fact, statistics show that men are 30 percent more likely to come in contact with a community-associated BSI, and 60 percent more likely than women to contract an SSI.

"By understanding the factors that put patients at risk for infections, clinicians may be able to design targeted prevention and surveillance strategies to improve infection rates and outcomes," said Bevin Cohen, MPH, Program Director, Center for Interdisciplinary Research to Prevent Infections (CIRI) at Columbia University School of Nursing, and the lead author of the study, according to a press release.

Researchers collected the data from various electronic sources by a tertiary care hospital, a pediatric acute care hospital, and a community hospital with a large, academically affiliated hospital network in New York City.

The study may provide insight into the belief that gender difference in both BSI and SSI are caused by biological differences from differences in the skin of each sex. However, researchers note that further studies need to be conducted in order to confirm these results.

"In addition to using enhanced infection risk profiles to improve infection rates, it may be sensible to conduct specialized preoperative skin decontamination procedures and postoperative wound care for men to further reduce the risk of infection," Cohen said, according to a press release.

The study, "Gender Differences in Risk of Bloodstream and Surgical Site Infections," is published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.