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Patients getting treated by female doctors appear to live longer than those who don't.

In a recent study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, researchers found a significant association between the gender of physicians and patient outcomes, indicating that seeking treatment from female doctors may contribute to longer lifespans.

The study, led by Dr. Yusuke Tsugawa, an associate professor-in-residence of medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, examined Medicare claims data from 2016 to 2019, the New York Post reported.

According to the findings, patients treated by female physicians exhibited lower mortality rates compared to those treated by male physicians. Specifically, the mortality rate for female patients under the care of a female doctor was 8.15%, slightly lower than the 8.38% rate for those treated by male doctors.

Similarly, male patients treated by female doctors had a mortality rate of 10.15%, whereas the rate was 10.23% when treated by male doctors. The study included approximately 485,100 female patients and 318,800 male patients.

Tsugawa emphasized the significance of these findings, suggesting that variances in practice style between male and female physicians may have a meaningful impact on patient health outcomes.

He called for further research to elucidate the underlying mechanisms driving these disparities and explore how they can be leveraged to improve patient care universally.

Commenting on the study, Dr. Christopher Wallis from the University of Toronto noted that prior research has consistently shown improved outcomes among patients treated by female physicians across various medical fields. He attributed these differences to variances in communication styles and adherence to guidelines between genders.

"From data going back decades now, we know that women and men practice medicine differently with particular differences in communication styles and guideline adherence. It's not surprising to me to see these differences translate to patients' outcomes," Wallis explained to Medical News Today.

"Second, both more widely in society and certainly in medicine, women are held to arguably a higher standard than men. This is an exaggerated phenomenon in surgery and may explain some of the differences we've seen there."

Moreover, female doctors were found to spend more time engaging with patients, reviewing medical records and performing procedures compared to their male counterparts.

"In the surgical realm, female physicians spend longer on a surgical procedure and have lower rates of postoperative readmissions," study co-author Dr. Lisa Rotenstein, an assistant professor and medical director at the University of California, San Francisco, said.

Medical professionals advised male doctors to thoroughly contemplate the study's findings and assess their practices. They also suggested that male physicians observe and glean insights from the practices of their female counterparts to enhance patient care.