Women on the liver transplantation waitlist are at increased risk of hospitalization compared to men

Table 1 Baseline characteristics by gender¹

Characteristics	Total (n = 392)	Men (n = 231, 59%)	Women (n = 161, 41%)	P value
Age, yr	58 (51-63)	57 (50-63)	58 (52-63)	0.51
Race				0.64
Non-Hispanic Caucasian	240 (61)	142 (62)	98 (61)
Black	9 (2)	4 (2)	5 (3)
Hispanic	105 (27)	59 (26)	46 (29)
Asian	16 (4)	11 (5)	5 (3)
Other	22 (6)	15 (7)	7 (4)
Etiology				< 0.01
HCV	168 (43)	112 (49)	56 (35)
Alcohol	75 (19)	53 (23)	22 (14)
NAFLD/NASH	55 (14)	24 (10)	31 (19)
Autoimmune2	59 (15)	21 (9)	38 (24)
HBV	3 (1)	3 (1)	0 (0)
Other	32 (8)	18 (8)	14 (9)
BMI, kg/m2	28.5 (25.0-33.7)	28.8 (25.3-34.1)	28.0 (24.2-33.0)	0.13
Diabetes mellitus	115 (29)	71 (31)	44 (27)	0.47
Coronary artery disease	17 (4)	14 (3)	3 (2)	0.05
Hypertension	153 (39)	98 (42)	55 (34)	0.10
Stroke	7 (2)	4 (2)	3(2)	0.92
Dialysis	16 (4)	7 (3)	9 (5)	0.21
MELDNa	18 (15-22)	18 (15-22)	19 (15-23)	0.13
Albumin, g/dL	3.0 (2.6-3.4)	3.0 (2.6-3.4)	3.1 (2.7-3.4)	0.30
Presence of ascites	133 (34)	77 (33)	56 (35)	0.77
Numbers connection test, s	41 (30-58)	42 (32-58)	40 (29-58)	0.30
Moderate/severe HE	165 (42)	98 (42)	67 (42)	0.87
Frail	62 (16)	26 (16)	26 (17)	0.88

¹Data presented as n (%) or median (IQR).

²Combined autoimmune hepatitis, primary sclerosing cholangitis, and primary biliary cholangitis.

IQR: Interquartile range; HCV: Hepatitis C; NAFLD: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease; NASH: Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis; HBV: Hepatitis B; BMI: Body mass index; MELDNa: Model for end-stage liver disease with serum sodium; HE: Hepatic encephalopathy.

Table 2 Logistic regression for hospitalization within 12 mo

Characteristics	Univariable			Multivariable
	OR	95%CI	P value	aOR	95%CI	P value
Female gender	1.57	1.05-2.35	0.03	1.64	1.05-2.56	0.03
Non-Hispanic Caucasian	0.81	0.54-1.22	0.31
Age per year	1.00	0.98-1.02	0.95
Hypertension	1.26	0.84-1.89	0.26
Diabetes mellitus	1.31	0.85-2.02	0.23
Coronary artery disease	0.98	0.37-2.60	0.97
Stroke	0.83	0.18-3.75	0.81
Dialysis	1.89	0.67-5.31	0.22
BMI per 1 kg/m2	1.02	0.99-1.05	0.24
Autoimmune1	0.61	0.35-1.08	0.09
MELDNa per 1 point>	1.13	1.07-1.18	< 0.001	1.08	1.03-1.13	0.001
Albumin per 1 mg/dL	0.44	0.31-0.63	< 0.001	0.53	0.36-0.78	0.001
Ascites	2.28	1.49-3.50	< 0.001	1.61	1.00-2.57	0.05
> NCT per 1 s	1.01	1.01-1.02	0.006
Moderate/severe HE	1.17	0.78-1.75	0.45
Frail	3.59	1.97-6.55	< 0.001	2.37	1.24-4.54	0.009

¹Combined autoimmune hepatitis, primary sclerosing cholangitis, and primary biliary cholangitis. OR: Odds ratio; CI: Confidence interval; aOR: Adjusted odds ratio; BMI: Body mass index; MELDNa: Model for end-stage liver disease with serum sodium; NCT: Numbers connection test; HE: Hepatic encephalopathy.

Table 3 Binomial regression for number of hospitalized days within 12 mo

Characteristics	Univariable			Multivariable
	IRR	95%CI	P value	aIRR	95%CI	P value
Female gender	1.68	1.08-2.60	0.02	1.92	1.23-2.99	0.004
Non-Hispanic Caucasian	0.86	0.55-1.35	0.52
Age per year	1.00	0.98-1.03	0.80
Hypertension	1.31	0.84-2.04	0.24
Diabetes mellitus	1.05	0.65-1.69	0.85
Coronary artery disease	0.52	0.18-1.55	0.28
Stroke	0.20	0.03 0 1.16	0.13
Dialysis	1.63	0.55-4.87	0.34
BMI per 1 kg/m2	1.01	0.98-1.05	0.42
Autoimmune1	0.59	0.32-1.09	0.11
MELDNa per 1 point	1.09	1.04-1.14	< 0.001	1.08	1.03-1.13	0.001
Albumin per 1 mg/dL	0.58	0.39-0.84	0.005	0.47	0.31-0.70	< 0.001
Ascites	1.72	1.09-2.70	0.02
NCT per 1 s	1.00	1.00-1.01	0.13
Moderate/severe HE	1.28	0.82-1.98	0.28
Frail	2.12	1.17-3.81	0.007

¹Combined autoimmune hepatitis, primary sclerosing cholangitis, and primary biliary cholangitis. IRR: Incidence rate ratio; CI: Confidence interval; aIRR: Adjusted incidence rate ratio; BMI: Body mass index; MELDNa: Model for end-stage liver disease with serum sodium; NCT: Numbers connection test; HE: Hepatic encephalopathy.