J Trauma
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Comparative Study
Use of a pediatric cohort to examine gender and sex hormone influences on outcome after trauma.
Animal studies suggest that female gender imparts a protective effect on outcome after trauma, and implicate sex hormones as the cause. Human studies have yielded mixed results. These results are confounded by postmenopausal hormone replacement and the difficulty of controlling for pretrauma comorbidities. The pediatric population is a better model to determine the impact of gender and sex hormones on outcome after trauma. ⋯ Female gender was associated with improved survival rates for patients demonstrating sex hormone production (i.e. postpubescent patients) in a manner that was directly proportional to their severity of injury. No protective effect of gender was seen in the prepubescent or peripubertal age groups.