Although the difference in mortality was slight — just 0.24% — it was still statistically significant enough for the researchers to note. Senior author of the study, Dr. Yusuke Tsugawa of UCLA, said that there shouldn’t be any differences in patient outcomes.
“What our findings indicate is that female and male physicians practice medicine differently, and these differences have a meaningful impact on patients’ health outcomes,” Tsugawa said in a news release. Male patients treated by female doctors also had a slightly lower risk of mortality, but the difference wasn’t statistically significant.
The researchers suggested that male doctors might not take female patients’ conditions as seriously. Women doctors might also have better communication skills with female patients that facilitate the communication of key information for an accurate diagnosis (consider the questions your doctor wishes you would ask). Female patients might also feel more comfortable with female doctors.
The researchers noted that the study’s results can’t be generalized to younger people. In other words, having a woman doctor while you’re younger doesn’t necessarily lead to a lower risk of early death.