A relatively large number of men die from the consequences of the coronavirus. Are men more vulnerable to COVID-19 than women?
Figures from the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) of 25 March show that more than 60 percent of COVID-19 patients who end up in hospital in the Netherlands are men. Of the people who died from the consequences of the coronavirus in the Netherlands, 60 percent are also men. However, the coronavirus is diagnosed in about as many men as women. So men seem to get sicker from an infection than women.
In Italy and China, more men than women died from the effects of the corona virus. Sabra Klein, a professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said earlier The Washington Post that we do not know what makes men more likely to develop COVID-19. But Klein also said that a patient’s gender and age influence the risk of death after coronavirus infection.
Men smoke and drink more
Possible causes of the gender differences are mentioned. Probably both behavior and biological differences play a role. The fact that men smoke and drink more on average than women seems to be an important difference.
Figures from the World Health Organization (WHO) show that 34 percent of men over the age of 15 smoke worldwide, compared to 6 percent of women over fifteen. And annually, men worldwide drink an average of 7 liters more pure alcohol than women.
Smoking increases the risk of respiratory diseases and cardiovascular diseases. Both chronic diseases are related to a higher chance of a severe course of COVID-19. Drinking too much alcohol also increases the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Women’s immune system is different from men’s
In addition, the immune system may also play a role. On average, women have a more active immune system than men. A negative consequence of this is that women are more likely to have autoimmune diseases. In autoimmune diseases, the immune system turns against the body. In addition, there are also indications that women’s immune systems respond more strongly and better to vaccinations.
A study of male and female mice with the SARS and MERS virus was published in 2017. Both viruses are dangerous coronaviruses to humans, but are different from the coronavirus that has now caused a pandemic. This study showed that male mice are more vulnerable to SARS and MERS than female mice. Males had a larger amount of the virus in the lungs and became sicker than female mice. Among middle-aged mice, the gender difference was greater than among younger and older mice.
These conclusions cannot be extended one-to-one to humans and the COVID-19 virus. But this is an indication that biological differences can also partly explain why men seem to become sicker of COVID-19 than women.
Women can indeed become seriously ill due to the coronavirus. 128 women in the Netherlands have succumbed to COVID-19.
Follow the latest developments around the virus in our live blog.
The coronavirus in short
- The coronavirus mainly spreads from person to person via sneezing and cough drops. The chance of becoming infected through surfaces such as door handles is small. This chance decreases if you wash your hands often.
- You can considerably reduce the chance of spreading by keeping at least 1.5 meters away from others.
- An infected person infects two to three others on average. Precautions are necessary to contain this.
- The vast majority of patients have mild (flu-like) complaints.
- Almost all deaths involve the elderly or other vulnerable persons, such as heart, lung or diabetes patients. If everyone complies with the measures, this reduces their risks.
- Read here what precautions you should take.
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