To investigate the effect of sex factor on pre-hospital delay time (PHDT) in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).

A total of 447 patients with STEMI from April 2014 to November 2015 were divided into the male group (371 cases) and female group (76 cases). The age, diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipemia, smoking history, coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, way of seeking medical care, PHDT and type of medical treatment insurance were recorded and compared. Meanwhile, the PHDT were categorized into five groups:< 3 h group,> 3-6 h group,> 6 - 12 h group,> 12 - 24 h and> 24 h group. Logistics regression model was used to investigate sex and other factors on PHDT in patients with STEMI.

The age in the female group were much higher than that in the male group [(64 ± 8) vs. (56 ± 11), t = 1.040, P = 0.001], and the PHDT in the female group was much longer than that in the male group [(396 ± 38) min vs. (367 ± 30) min, t = 1.219, P = 0.017]. The type of medical treatment insurance also showed singificant differences between the two groups (χ² = 5.500, P = 0.007). Meanwhile, the multivariate Logistic regression analysis revealed that the female patients with STEM I (95% confidence interval: 0.216 - 0.981, P = 0.049), way of seeking medical care (95% confidence interval: 0.198 - 0.711, P = 0.003), the type of medical treatment insurance (95% confidence interval: 0.004 - 0.587, P = 0.018) were associated with PHDT.

The female sex was associated with PHDT in STEMI patients.