Women are more resistant to Covid-19 than men

According to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, men’s death rates from Covid-19 are 20% higher than women’s. The scientists hypothesized that the difference in risk between the sexes could partly be attributed to the role of the hormone estrogen in the immune system.

New research published in BMJ Open 14, linking estrogen levels with the likelihood of women dying after they contracted Covid-19. The researchers therefore looked at Sweden’s national health registry data from more than 16,000 women, aged 50-80, who had tested positive for Covid from 4 February 2022 to 14 September 2020. Most had experienced menopause, during which estrogen normally declines.

The researchers were particularly interested in the women in the group taking drugs that affect estrogen levels: 227 underwent hormone therapy, breast cancer treatment that lowers estrogen, and about 2,500 underwent treatment. Hormone replacement therapy, which increases estrogen levels to relieve menopausal symptoms. After adjusting for other risk factors, the scientists found that women who took extra estrogen had a 53 percent lower risk of dying from Covid-19 than women who did not receive treatment.

Dr Franck Mauvais – Jarvis, director of the Sex-Based Medicine Laboratory at Tulane University, says that estrogen and the hormone progesterone, to a lesser extent – are thought to be involved in the body’s immune response, and can reduce inflammation. During Covid-19, inflammation can cause a “cytokine storm”, a dangerous condition in which the immune system becomes overwhelmed.

Dr Malin Sund, professor at Umea University in Sweden and a co-author of the study, said that estrogen can also affect the spike protein receptor, which SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, uses to enter cells.

However, as Sund and his authors point out, randomized clinical trials are needed to determine whether the association is causal and whether artificially increasing estrogen can protect patients from Covid-19.

Sund stressed that people should not experiment with changing their estrogen levels; Elevated levels of estrogen can have side effects, such as an increased risk of breast cancer. “In contrast, women who already have breast cancer should absolutely not stop hormone therapy based on this study because they desperately need cancer treatment. The best they can do is get vaccinated,” said Sud. .

Calm (based on Time)

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