COVID-19 affects men, women differently: An overview of the factors behind gender-related health effects

The COVID-19 pandemic has raised many questions about why SARS-CoV-2 virus, COVID-19 infections, and the global labor and economic crisis have affected men and women differently.

Men have had consistently higher mortality than women infected with COVID-19. The data show that men are about twice as likely to die from COVID-19-related disease as women. At the same time, more women with COVID-19 are likely to be diagnosed at an early stage, as women make up the majority of health care workers in most countries.

In the study published in the Journal Nature according to the researchers, on August 26, the neutralizing immune response to COVID-19 was stronger in women regardless of age. The immune systems described in detail in the study are “an important basis for developing a gender-based approach to the treatment and care of men and women with COVID-19,” the authors say.

The research community has gathered some evidence – and reached a consensus – that the differences in infection rates between men and women are not so different, but the results are.

This pattern appears to be repeated in the reporting of almost every country and raises important questions about the spread and clinical impact of this pandemic:

Men and women are equally likely to make COVID-19?

Based on the available data, experts say COVID-19 the number of infections is similar in men and women. In other words, men and women are equally likely to become infected with COVID-19. However, a significantly higher proportion of men surrender to the disease than women.

India and many other countries do not indicate COVID-19-cases and deaths separately for women and men, and many others do not report data broken down by gender and age. This leaves little room for independent analysis of data from trials in men and women, the number of infections, or other factors that affect COVID-19.

Also read: A study of five women suggests estrogen, a contraceptive that provides some protection against COVID-19

Are infected men more serious?

In India more than in many other COVID-19 countries, data show that men were more likely to have serious complications from COVID-19 and death. Older men with the underlying disease were also found disadvantaged than their female counterparts COVID-19-related complications.

Countries around the world report significantly higher COVID-19 mortality in men than women. A recent study in Public health boundaries found that men die at least twice from COVID-19 regardless of age. Men were also unlikely to survive critical COVID-19 cases.

The biological basis for gender differences in COVID-19

SARS, influenza, Ebola and HIV The epidemics affected all men and women differently. Gender – specific information is essential to understand how the virus affects the population because men and women are likely to have very different reactions virus, vaccines and treatment, experts said The New York Times. The causes can be hormonal, genetic, or even related to differences in intestinal bacteria.

These differences may have a different basis at the biological level:

• hormonal: such as the effects of the sex hormones testosterone, estrogen or progesterone. The body’s response may also vary in people receiving hormone therapy.
• genetic: as women have two X chromosomes that contain more immunogens or differences in intestinal bacteria.
• immune response: A stronger immune response in women increases the ability to fight infections and the risk of autoimmune diseases. Previous studies also report a higher number of subtype IgG antibodies in women compared to men after the onset of SARS-CoV2 infection. There is also evidence of that female mast cells may initiate a more active immune responsewhich helps to better fight infectious diseases.

Sociological effects of COVID-19

Gender differences between women and men that play a role in the severity and short-term mortality of acute COVID-19 infection. But sociological factors also play a big part.

While trends show that infection rates and morbidity affect more men, the mental impact of a pandemic appears to fall disproportionately on women’s shoulders in many countries. More unpaid care, domestic work, job and income losses, and an increase in gender-based violence are some of the factors that increase women’s pandemic stress and anxiety. UN Women’s Resource.

Behavioral effects of COVID-19

Differences in behavior have also been suggested, for example, men are more likely to be smokers and women wash their hands more often. At the same time, women also have more medication side effects than men, which means dosage and gender-specific side effects of vaccinations and therapeutic drugs.

The data also show that it is difficult for both men and women to find the necessary medical supplies, hygiene products and food. The proportion of people who could not contact a doctor, experienced longer waiting times or had difficulty getting the products they needed shows that more women in developing countries were at a disadvantage.

Differences in sociological rights in many forms (mobile phone ownership, Internet access, educational history, etc.) can prevent people from accessing potentially life-saving information. When this happens, women were found to be less likely to receive information about COVID-19 than men in developing countries, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Health and safety effects

When there are orders at home during lockout, violent partners are higher risk of abuse, but they are independent helpful people or resources. In France, there was abuse at home cases triple in the first week of locking, while in Australia reported a 75 percent increase in cases and Lebanon saw a double call to the local abuse line in March this year compared to last year. While domestic violence can affect men or women, women are victims in a disproportionate number of cases.

Higher tobacco consumption, reluctance to seek appropriate and timely medical care are most affected. Women’s health services, such as access to contraception, are also precarious unless governments declare themselves to be essential services.

The family planning organization Marie Stopes has estimated that there were 9.5 million women and girls worldwide the risk of losing access to their contraceptive and abortion services in 2020 due to a pandemic.

Effects on the COVID-19 response

While there are several theories as to why COVID-19 can affect gender in different ways — from lifestyle choices to sociological factors, differences in chromosomal structure to the complex functioning of our immune system — the evidence suggests the most likely cause is biological.

Gender differences also affect the immune system’s response to infection. These differences, confirmed by independent studies, may have implications for all levels of the global COVID-19 response – from clinical trials, treatment, and vaccination strategies.