In a multicenter study from the FOCUS-PAH registry (2001-2022), researchers examined sex differences among 410 pulmonary arterial hypertension patients, and found that women represented 2 out of 3 patients (66.6 %) vs 33.4%). The findings, published in the International Journal of Cardiology on March 20, 2025 in an article titled “Sex differences in pulmonary arterial hypertension: Insights from the FOCUS-PAH registry”, suggest that despite similar ages, men had more cardio-renal-metabolic conditions and HIV infections, while women had more connective tissue disorders and scleroderma. Women received dual therapy more frequently and showed better survival outcomes, with female sex independently associated with a 40% lower mortality risk. Different predictors of mortality emerged between sexes: women’s outcomes were influenced by age, ESC/ERS risk score, glomerular filtration rate and scleroderma, while men’s outcomes were only predicted by age and ESC/ERS risk score.
The authors conclude that there were differences in the variables associated with long-term mortality between sexes, suggesting that individualized approach to risk stratification should also include sex.
Read more at this link on the National Library of Medicine website
Citation
Sex differences in pulmonary arterial hypertension: Insights from the FOCUS-PAH registry, Pagnesi, Matteo et al.International Journal of Cardiology, Volume 0, Issue 0, 133180, DOI:10.1016/j.ijcard.2025.133180
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