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The following is a summary of “Gender-stratified analyses of symptoms associated with life-threatening events in patients calling out-of-hours primary care for shortness of breath,” published in the May 2025 issue of BMC Primary Care by Spek et al. 

There are indications that women and men perceive shortness of breath (SOB) differently, but it is unclear whether the presentation of symptoms differs between genders during a life-threatening event (LTE).  

Researchers conducted a retrospective study to assess whether symptoms associated with LTE varied between women and men with SOB seeking out-of-hours primary care (OHS-PC).  

They used data from patients contacting 2 large Dutch OHS-PC centers for SOB between 1 September 2020 and 31 August 2021. Symptoms mentioned during triage conversations were compared between patients with and without LTEs, including acute coronary syndrome, pulmonary embolism, acute heart failure, and severe pneumonia, with the data stratified by gender.  

The results showed that 1,861 adults contacted OHS-PC for SOB, with a mean age of 53.3 years, and 55.3% of them were women. The risk of an LTE was lower in women than in men (15.0% vs 18.7%, relative risk [RR] 0.80; 95% CI 0.65–0.98). Patients with LTEs were older, more likely to have someone else call for them, have a history of cardiovascular disease, use cardiovascular medication, and be unable to speak full sentences compared to those without LTEs. Gender differences were observed only in the context of calling at night (women: 24.0% vs 15.2%, P= 0.006, versus men: 18.7% vs 22.5%, P= 0.300; interaction term P-value: 0.009) and general practitioner participation during telephone triage (women: 49.4% vs 49.5%, P= 0.975, vs men: 56.1% vs 43.0%, P= 0.003; interaction term P-value: 0.033).  

Investigators concluded that among patients contacting OHS-PC with SOB, approximately 1 in 6 had an LTE, with men experiencing it more often than women, and no strong evidence of symptom differences between gender groups predictive of LTEs was found. 

Source: bmcprimcare.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12875-025-02870-6