Age-related sex differences in intensive care treatment and outcome: a retrospective registry-based study in Australia and New Zealand. Comment on Br J Anaesth 2026; 136: 1217-25

The study examined sex differences in intensive care treatment and patient outcomes across different age groups in Australia and New Zealand. The research was based on analysis of more than two million admissions to intensive care units registered in the ANZICS-APD database. The authors aimed to verify findings from a Swedish study by Hägglöf and colleagues, which showed that female sex was associated with higher 30-day mortality. The Swedish study also revealed that women had lower mortality risk at younger ages and higher mortality risk at older ages. The objective of this analysis was to determine whether this relationship between sex and age is also evident in Australian and New Zealand intensive care units.