COVID-19 Death Rate Significantly Higher in Men, Global Study Finds

Men have a 50% higher chance of dying from the coronavirus than women. The study was conducted in 35 countries by Global Health 50/50, an independent research organization under the University College of London. The causes are both biological and behavioral, in the sense that women have "a fairly strong immune system". "Women have stronger immune responses and die less from infectious diseases," explains the specialist. "In general, women’s bodies repel bacterial and viral invaders faster than men, and vaccines also work better for women than for men," reports Hespress.

In detail, Dr. Moussayer explained that "the female chromosome, X, has more genes associated with immune function and, since women have two X chromosomes unlike men who only have one, these genes are more numerous to stimulate the body’s defense." Thus, for proteins that detect viruses such as COVID-19, "they are particularly encoded on the X chromosome; hence a faster immune response." Recently, a Chinese study showed that "the coronavirus infects the body by binding to a protein on the surface of our cells called ACE2".

Apart from the biological aspects, Dr. Moussayer argues that certain excesses such as the consumption of tobacco, alcohol, drugs and other narcotics have an impact on infections such as the coronavirus. Similarly, "past studies also highlight a more relaxed tendency in men, leading them to be less respectful of the preventive behaviors and hygiene measures recommended by health authorities," the specialist points out.

She did not fail to point out in her analysis that this more effective immune response in women against the coronavirus has an unknown negative counterpart in Morocco, which translates in some as "a pathological hyperactivity where the specialized cells (white blood cells) and substances, the antibodies, which are normally supposed to protect our organs, mistake the enemy and start attacking our own organs and cells," according to Hespress.

In conclusion, Dr. Moussayer insists that the coronavirus pandemic must not make us forget this female burden that autoimmune diseases constitute, stressing "that one woman in six is or will be affected during her lifetime," the same source specifies.