Gender Differences in Clinical Presentations of Cystic Fibrosis Patients in Azeri Turkish Population

BACKGROUND Cystic fibrosis (CF) is an autosomal recessive disorder with several clinical presentations. This study was undertaken in the Azeri Turkish population in Iran, to investigate gender differences in the age at onset and diagnosis, age of death, and duration of illness of CF. METHODS The data of 331 CF patients from 2001 to 2015 was surveyed. Parameters including age, sex, ΔF508 mutation, age at onset, age at diagnosis, age of death and clinical presentations were evaluated for both sexes, using descriptive analysis. The association of gender with these variables was studied using logistic regression, chi-square test and Mann-Whitney U test by SPSS version 18. Odds ratio with a confidence interval of 95% and p≤0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS The study included 191 males (57.7%) and 140 females (42.3%), all showing statistically significant difference (p<0.001). Age duration differed between genders. Male and female patients were further under 9 and 4 years, respectively. The occurrence of ΔF508 mutation was 0.51 times more in females than in males. Age, diagnosis and sex were closely associated: males were diagnosed at a significantly later age than females (p=0.05). While this compression performed based on clinical presentations, males with respiratory disease had a later median age at diagnosis than females at lifespan (p=0.001). The risk of infertility in males was approximately two times greater than in females (p=0.02). CONCLUSION These findings indicate gender differences in CF patients. Future studies are needed to establish other differences and evaluate the causes for the gender variations.