The universally feared, global pandemic: COVID-19 has become omnipresent in almost every country across the globe and has terrorised more lives than we can even count. As scientists are analysing and researching this virus in extreme depth, the global number of cases rise to insurmountable levels causing colossal and irreparable damage.
One discovery made by China's Centre for Disease Control and Prevention suggests that this virus severely affects and kills more men than it does women. These Chinese researchers found that while the infection rate among men and women is the same, the death rate among men is 2.8% compared with 1.7% for women. Officials noticed this gender difference during the SARS and MERS outbreaks as well. But why?
Women are known to have a relatively heightened immune response to the coronavirus in comparison to men. Researchers say that this is due to the high levels of oestrogen or the two X chromosomes present in the female body which contributes to immunity, explaining why women are more resilient to COVID-19.
Another reason could be that men and women have different health behaviours. According to The World Health Organisation, globally, about 40% of men smoke as compared with nearly 9% of women. In addition, men also have higher rates of high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (respiratory disease) than women, all of which can increase the risk of complications and death from a coronavirus infection.
Lastly, a study conducted by doctors in Mumbai itself, states that the coronavirus is proven to linger in the male reproductive organs as they are walled off from the immune system, making the recovery for male patients a prolonged period of time.
To conclude, females have an advantage over men in combating this deadly disease that has infiltrated our world and made a life for each and every individual extremely complicated.
Writer: Tiana Bijlani
11/06/2020
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