Several studies in the past have claimed that men are at a higher risk of developing Covid-19 and dying from the infection compared to women. A recent study by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri, supports previous findings and shows that low testosterone levels may be responsible for “increased disease severity” in men.
The The study was published Tuesday in the journal JAMA Network Open.
In the study, researchers found a link between the severity of Covid-19 disease and low testosterone levels in men.
“During the pandemic, There was a prevailing notion that testosterone was bad“The Print quoted Abhinav Diwan, a professor of medicine at the university, in a statement.
“”But we found the opposite in men. If a man had low testosterone levels at the beginning of his hospital stay, his risk for severe Covid-19 – which means he will need intensive treatment or die – was much higher than for men with more circulating testosterone. And if testosterone levels continued to drop during the hospital stay, the risk increased, ”Diwan said.
HOW THE STUDY WAS DONE
The researchers measured multiple hormones in blood samples from 152 people – 90 men and 62 women – who entered the Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis with symptoms of Covid-19 or confirmed cases of infection. Of these, 143 were hospitalized.
Researchers measured hormone levels (testosterone, estradiol, and IGF-1 concentrations) at the time of arrival (i.e. on day 0) and on days 3, 7, 14, and 28 after admission (if the patient stayed in the hospital) . 37 patients, including 25 men, died in the course of the study.
WHAT DOES THE STUDY SAY?
It was found that only testosterone levels were related to the severity of Covid-19 in men. Of the 90 men, 84 were hospitalized and 66 had severe Covid-19, the study found.
“”Of 66 men with severe Covid-19, 31 men were hospitalized with severe illness while 35 men developed severe illness according to a median (IQR) of 2 (1-3) days during their hospital stay, “the study says.
“”Men who needed admission to intensive care or artificial respiration, or who died, had lower testosterone levels than men who didn’t have these results, “it concluded.
“”Male sex is a risk factor for developing severe Covid-19 disease. It is not known whether sex hormones contribute to this predisposition, “the study said.
“These results suggest that Low testosterone levels can play a mechanistic role in poorer outcomes seen in men with Covid-19This underscores the need for clinical trials to test this hypothesis, “it said.
The team also found that lower testosterone levels in men correlated with higher levels of inflammation.
“… Lower testosterone levels during hospital stays have been linked to increased disease severity and inflammation in men,” the study revealed.
Testosterone levels in men decrease continuously by 1 to 2 percent per year after 30 years.
OTHER POSSIBLE RISK FACTOR
The researchers also mentioned other risk factors that could increase the risk of severe Covid-19 in men.
“In addition, Obesity, metabolic syndrome, and many chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, kidney failure, and chronic lung diseasehave been linked to lower serum testosterone levels in men, “they said.
It further said that age-related changes in the immune system were also different between the sexes and there was a clear association between morbidity / mortality and advanced age in Covid-19.
“Gender-specific differences in hygiene behavior and in tests The gender differences in disease severity are unlikely to be explained, “it said, while highlighting reasons why men were more prone to severe Covid-19 infections.
Meanwhile, A report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said“Men and women differ in both innate and adaptive immune responses, which may be partially related to them gender-specific inflammatory reactions due to X-linked inheritance. “
“The X chromosome contains a high density of immune-related genes, so women are generally more responsive to innate and adaptive immune responses than men,” it said.
Several studies have hypothesized that estrogen likely helped protect women from Covid-19. Therefore, some clinical studies have also been started to investigate whether estrogen therapy can help in the treatment of Covid patients.
However, the St. Louis study suggests that in men, low testosterone levels could be linked to more severe Covid-19 infection. As a result, the researchers warned men about ongoing clinical trials examining hormone therapies.
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