Men are at higher risk of dying from COVID-19 infection

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According to statistics from Johns Hopkins University, the cumulative number of confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide has exceeded 24 million, and the death toll has exceeded 820,000. In the face of COVID-19, not everyone is equal. Globally, 60% of COVID-19 deaths are men. According to a survey of 17 million people in the United Kingdom, the risk of death from COVID-19 in men is nearly twice that of women! ## **What causes the difference between men and women in COVID-19?** The team of Professor Akiko Iwasaki of Yale University did an in-depth study and found that the immune response of the two after infection with COVID-19 is significantly different. Women's T cell response is stronger and more durable. This may be the reason why the severity of the condition of male COVID-19 patients is higher. The research was published online recently in the journal Nature. Specifically, the researchers evaluated 98 mild to moderate patients admitted to Yale-New Haven Hospital who had not received immunomodulatory drugs. The scientists collected the nasal cavity, saliva, and blood samples of these patients and healthy volunteers, and tracked the prognosis of the patients. They wanted to understand how the initial immune response of these patients would affect their prognosis (such as recovering quickly or getting worse. ) Interestingly, in the early stages of infection, the immune response of male patients and female patients showed significant differences-in men, the levels of a variety of innate immune cytokines (such as IL-8 and IL-18) increased. high. Generally speaking, this is the first response to fighting external pathogens. Under the call of cytokines, immune cells will go to the infection site and stimulate the immune response. This was originally a good thing, but in the face of COVID-19 disease, cytokines have actually done bad things with kindness. In the case of excessive cytokines, fluid accumulation in the lungs will greatly affect the body's ability to obtain oxygen. This can cause damage to various tissues and even organ failure. Since males have higher cytokine levels than females, they are also more prone to "cytokine storm", which is the phenomenon of excessive cytokines. Consistent with this hypothesis, women with higher levels of innate immune cytokines are also prone to disease deterioration. REFERENCE： 1. Takahashi, T., Ellingson, M.K., Wong, P. et al. Sex differences in immune responses that underlie COVID-19 disease outcomes. Nature (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2700-3
Originally posted here: https://hive.blog/hive-196387/@musiccccat/men-are-at-higher-risk-of-dying-from-covid-19-infection