OBJECTIVES: Health gaps (inequities) are unfair and unjustifiable differences in medical diagnosis, health outcomes, or access to healthcare across different demographic groups. Previous research has shown that healthcare systems systematically discriminate against females in terms of access to treatment and preventive services throughout their lives (to differing degrees in different regions). However, systematic identification of the extent of these disparities is missing. We aimed to quantify sex-related differences in health outcomes using published literature.

METHODS: An umbrella review of previously published systematic reviews (SR) was conducted via electronic databases (January 2019–April 2024). English-language SRs with freely available full texts that include meta-analyses on sex-related health disparities were captured. No restrictions on geographies, age, or health outcomes were applied. Screening and extraction were conducted in duplicate. AMSTAR 2 was used to assess SR quality.

RESULTS: Of 791 hits, eight SRs and one umbrella review of moderate quality were included. All SRs had a global perspective except three (North America). Four SRs studied sex disparities in general populations, whereas five studied sex disparities in pre-defined medical conditions (COVID-19, depression, inflammatory disease, and post-surgery outcomes). Consistently, females were shown to experience a statistically significantly higher risk of poor mental health (anxiety/depression male-to-female risk rate range: 1.9–2.3) across all ages, suicide rates among adolescents (odds ratio: 1.96), and more complications after aneurysm surgery, including mortality (odds ratio range: 1.2–3.0). Evidence on differences in access between sexes was limited. COVID-19 more frequently affected males, who were less likely to be vaccinated compared with females.

CONCLUSIONS: Healthcare gains during the last years have not been equally conferred to both sexes, suggesting an unwavering sex-based health gap. Our findings confirm that several conditions affect women disproportionally to men. Further reviews should use advanced analytics to quantify findings across studies.