Effect of Gender on Spect Myocardial Perfusion Imaging Results in Egypt

Abstract

Background Ischemic heart disease (IHD) is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality around the world. Men are more affected than women and the more the population age, the more is the prevalence. There was a concern about improper referral of women to MPI testing. We aim to study if there a gender effect on the results of MPI studies and if this could have an impact on future referral or investigation selection for diagnosis of IHD as a general or specially in women. Methods The current study was a retrospective observational study that enrolled 443 consecutive patients who were candidates for myocardial perfusion imaging. The study was conducted throughout the period from January 2021 to October 2023. Results Female gender represented 266 (60%) while male represented in 177 (40%). Males demonstrated significantly higher age (55 ± 10 vs. 49 ± 9, P < .0001), weight (85 ± 11 vs. 83 ± 13, P = 0.006), height (166 ± 4 vs. 165 ± 4, P = 0.02), and smoking (35% vs. 0%, P < 0.001) than females. Male gender was associated with ten times increased risk of positive MPI (OR = 10, 95% CI = 5.348–18.868, P < 0.001). Diabetes was associated with an increased risk of positive MPI (OR = 1.82, 95% CI = 1.052–3.148, P = 0.032). Conclusions Positive MPI test are more common in males. Female patients with positive MPI were younger in age than male patients. Diabetes mellitus and age are traditional strong predictors for the presence of positive MPI test.