Sex Disparity in Severity of Lung Lesions in Newly Identified Tuberculosis Is Age-Associated.

The age-associated characteristic of computed tomography (CT) images of tuberculosis (TB) and the reason for male bias in TB are still not clear. We compared the CT images, clinical inflammatory indices and sputum bacterial counts between 594 non-smoking men and women with newly diagnosed TB with matched large span of ages from 15 to 92 years old. Logistic regression analyses were used to identify the cavity-associated factors of men and women, separately and in combination.

Sex influences the association between haemostasis and the extent of lung lesions in tuberculosis.

Background: Worldwide tuberculosis (TB) reports show a male bias in morbidity; however, the differences in pathogenesis between men and women with TB, as well as the mechanisms associated with such differences, are poorly investigated. We hypothesized that comparison of the degree of lung injury and clinical indices of well-matched men and women with newly diagnosed TB, and statistical analysis of the correlation between these indices and the extent of lung lesions, can provide insights into the mechanism of gender bias in TB.

Methods: We evaluated the acid-fast bacilli grading of sputum samples and compiled computed tomography (CT) data of the age-matched, newly diagnosed male and female TB patients without history of smoking or comorbidities.