Sex Difference in Long-Term Survival After Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting Is Age-Dependent

Women undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) demonstrate higher rates of postoperative morbidity and mortality than men. The aim of this study was to compare the patient profile and long-term outcomes of men and women undergoing isolated CABG.A retrospective patient record study and propensity score-matched analysis.This single-center study was performed at Catharina Hospital in Eindhoven, The Netherlands.The study comprised 17,483 patients, of whom 13,564 (77.6%) were men and 3,919 (22.4%) were women.Coronary artery bypass grafting was performed between January 1998 and December 2015.The mean follow-up period was 8.8 ± 5.0 years. Women were older than men (67.7 ± 9.4 years v 63.9 ± 9.6 years, p < 0.001) and had lower preoperative hemoglobin levels. Early mortality (30-day) (2.8% v 1.9%; p < 0.001) and one-year mortality (5.2% v 3.8%; p < 0.001) rates were significantly higher in women than in men. Women demonstrated worse long-term survival than men only in the population younger than 70 years. After propensity score matching, female sex was not identified as an independent risk factor for long-term survival.In the patient population, propensity score-matched analysis showed that female sex was not an independent risk factor for long-term survival after CABG. Poorer survival in women after CABG only was observed in patients <70 years of age.