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The combination of higher relative risk for acute kidney injury (AKI) during hospitalization among boys and men and lower risk for hospitalized AKI among women of fertile age and post-menopausal women prescribed estrogen supports a protective role for female sex hormones, according to a prospective cohort study published in the American Journal of Kidney Diseases. Ladan Golestaneh, MD, and colleagues analyzed data from 132,667 individuals hospitalized 235,629 times with a mean age of 55.2 years. AKI occurred in 53,926 (22.9%) hospitalizations. In adjusted models, there was a significant interaction between age and sex (P<0.001). Boys and men had a higher risk for AKI across all age groups, and especially high risk compared to women of fertile age and women older than 55 years prescribed estrogen, supporting a protective role for female sex hormones regarding the occurrence of hospitalized AKI.