Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41618700›Full record

ArticleInfluenza and other respiratory viruses2026

Comparison of Hospitalization Rates and Clinical Features Between Boys and Girls With Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection.

Erika Uusitupa, Matti Waris, Tytti Vuorinen, Terho Heikkinen

Abstract readComparative Study
In one paragraph

Article in Influenza and other respiratory viruses, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

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1citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Erika UusitupaDepartment of Pediatrics, University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland.
Matti WarisDepartment of Clinical Microbiology, Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland.
Tytti VuorinenDepartment of Clinical Microbiology, Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland.
Terho HeikkinenDepartment of Pediatrics, University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland.

Funding

Foundation for Pediatric ResearchOrion Research FoundationResearch Foundation of the Pulmonary Diseases
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundMale sex is a well-known risk factor for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) hospitalization in children, but there are no data on potential differences in clinical features between boys and girls hospitalized with RSV infection.

methodsWe compared the average population-based rates of hospitalization and the clinical features of the illness between boys and girls hospitalized with virologically confirmed RSV infection during 2006-2020 at Turku University Hospital, Finland. During this period, testing for RSV was routine in all children admitted with respiratory infections. The comparisons were performed in different age groups of children up to 5 years of age.

resultsAmong all 1204 children < 5 years of age hospitalized with RSV, the average annual RSV hospitalization rates were 4.0/1000 in boys and 3.3/1000 in girls (incidence rate ratio [IRR] 1.21; 95% CI, 1.07-1.35; p = 0.001). The difference was greatest in children aged 3-23 months, among whom the corresponding rates were 5.4/1000 in boys and 3.6/1000 in girls (IRR, 1.50; 95% CI, 1.25-1.80; p < 0.001). The occurrence of respiratory distress was consistently higher in boys than in girls among children aged 6-17 months. In this group of 233 children, 128 of 141 (90.8%) boys had documented respiratory distress, compared with 70 of 92 (76.1%) girls (p = 0.002).

conclusionsExcept for the first 3 months after birth, boys have a 50% higher risk of RSV hospitalization than girls during the first 2 years of life. In that same age group, boys hospitalized with RSV have also significantly more respiratory distress than girls.

Indexed as

HospitalizationRespiratory Syncytial Virus InfectionsChild, PreschoolFemaleFinlandHumansIncidenceInfantMaleRespiratory Syncytial Virus, HumanRisk FactorsSex Factorschildrenhospitalizationrespiratory syncytial virussex differencewheezing

Identifiers

PMID41618700
PMCPMC12859523

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