“When we analysed the data from our COVID symptom study, we also found that in the UK, men are more likely than women to need respiratory support after admission to hospital with COVID-19.” Could estrogen have a protective effect against COVID-19? "It's very apparent from the data that we've seen that men are more commonly affected, more likely to be in the hospital, and also more likely to be in intensive care," says Louise.
A study in Ontario, Canada also showed that although more women were tested for the coronavirus, men were more likely to test positive, and had higher rates of hospitalization, ICU admission, and death.
“We know that women have a stronger response to infections, especially viruses, compared to men, and this is because we have different immune systems,” explains Louise.Įarly research has shown that men are three times more likely to die from COVID-19 than women.
COVID-19, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, also appears to affect men more severely than women. Men and women respond differently to many viral infections, including flu, SARS, and MERS. Why are men more affected by COVID-19 than women? To find out more, we spoke to women’s health expert, Dr Louise Newson, and our founder, Professor Tim Spector, to find out about role that the sex hormone estrogen plays in our immune systems, and the impact of menopause, pregnancy, and hormone replacement therapy on immunity.
We’re hoping to have the first results to share with you next week, so watch this space. We recently updated our COVID Symptom Study app to include questions about sex and hormones, including HRT and the Pill, to start to unpick how these important factors interact with coronavirus infection and COVID-19. It has been widely reported that men are more likely to suffer worse symptoms and more likely to die from COVID-19 than women. How do hormones and sex affect coronavirus and COVID-19?
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