The following is a summary of “Biological Sex Inequality in Rheumatology Wait Times During the COVID-19 Pandemic,” published in the October 2023 issue of Rheumatology by Katz et al.

Researchers performed a retrospective study to examine the effect of biological sex on rheumatology wait times prior to and during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

They extracted de-identified data from the electronic medical record for all referred patients between November 2019 and June 2022. The collected data, including time from referral to first appointment, biological sex, referral period, urgency status, age, and geographic location, were analyzed.

The results showed 12,817 referrals. During the peri-COVID period, wait times increased by an average of 24.23 days (P<0.001). There were no significant differences in wait times based on biological sex or age. Triage urgency played a role in wait times, with semi-urgent referrals being seen 8.94 days earlier (95% CI −15.90 to −1.99) than routine referrals and urgent referrals being seen 25.42 days earlier (95% CI −50.36 to −0.47) than regular referrals. In the peri-COVID period, there was a difference in wait times by biological sex, with women waiting, on average, 10.03 days longer than men (95% CI 6.98-13.09, P<0.001). Older patients had less wait times than younger patients, with a reduction of −4.64 days for each 10-year increase in age (95% CI −5.49 to −3.78). Triage urgency remained a predictor of wait time.

They concluded that women and younger patients had longer rheumatology wait times during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Source: jrheum.org/content/50/10/1346