ACCORDING to global statistics, men are more likely to be infected by the Covid-19 infections and suffer critical complications of the disease compared to the female gender.
Based on the four main countries [ihc-hide-content ihc_mb_type=”show” ihc_mb_who=”2,3,5″ ihc_mb_template=”1″ ] affected by Covid-19 such as China, France, Italy and South Korea, the mortality rates of men were more than 50 per cent greater than those of infected females.
Malaysia, like many other countries among the world, records a higher male mortality rate among its male Covid-19 patients – with latest statistics dated April 10 – registering male deaths at 1.2 per cent compared to female at only 0.37 per cent. Of the 70 fatalities recorded, 54 were men according to Ministry of Health statistics.
The higher Covid-19 mortality rate among men globally is most likely due to their personal lifestyle and compulsive habits, says Monash University Malaysia Professor Sunil K Lal.
Lal, an expert in microbiology told The Petri Dish in an interview recently, that biology, lifestyle and behaviour patterns can be an influencing factor in the trending higher Covid-19 deaths.
According to Lal, the virus is prone to infect people who have chronic health problems such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease, obesity, asthma, and lung conditions.
He said: “Men are more prone to these conditions compared to women as more men smoke than women and alcohol consumption is higher among men than women,” added Lal.
In Malaysia, 38.8 per cent of men smoke daily compared to 1.1 per cent in women.
Other experts, like James Gill, an honorary clinical fellow at Warwick Medical School echo the thoughts of Lal.
“Smoking has been considered as one of the biggest contributing factors due to the damage to the cilia in the lungs, increasing the risk of any respiratory infections, not merely Covid-19 but other infections as well,” said Gill.
While smoking is a plausible factor, globally, across various different cultures, where smoking rates do differ, we are still seeing the sustained difference in mortality between men and women,” Gill added.
According to Gill, smoking has been considered as one of the biggest contributing factors due to the damage to the cilia in the lungs, increasing the risk of any respiratory infections, not merely Covid-19 but other infections as well.
Meanwhile, University of British Columbia scientists found that besides chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients, smokers also have higher levels of ACE-2 in their airways, which might put them at an increased risk of developing severe Covid-19 infections.
Besides smoking habit, the strength of immune system is another factor. Philip Goulder, Professor of Immunology from the University of Oxford pointed that women have ‘aggressive’ immune response compared to men.
“Females have two X chromosomes compared to one in males, and a number of critical immune genes are located on the X chromosome. In particular, the protein by which viruses such as coronavirus are sensed is encoded on the X chromosome. As a result, this protein is expressed at twice the dose on many immune cells in females compared to males, and the immune response to coronavirus is therefore amplified in females,” Goulder explained.
Although women have more robust immune systems, it also makes them more likely to have autoimmune disorders, where the body attacks and damages its own tissues. Examples of autoimmune disorders are Rheumatoid arthritis, Systemic lupus erythematosus (lupus), multiple sclerosis, and psoriasis.
Hormones such as estrogen might also help to provide women with a more effective defence. Some important immune cells have estrogen receptors, and an estrogen supplement has been shown to increase general immune responses in mice.
Eventually, whether male or female it is never too late to initiate new lifestyle changes such as to quit smoking, consume healthy food, exercise, and maintain good personal hygiene and social distancing to fight over the Covid-19 infection.
Ultimately, biology, lifestyle and behaviour are all likely to play a role in the spread and impact of Covid-19. But we can only understand the exact differences between men and women when more countries produce and make available sex-disaggregated statistics on infection and mortality.pd
[/ihc-hide-content]
