International News Opinons Politics

Male Coronavirus Patients With Low Testosterone Levels Are MORE Likely To Die From COVID-19


Men with low testosterone levels that contract COVID-19 are at far greater risk of dying from the virus, a study has found.

A recent study found men are twice as likely to die from the coronavirus, but clinicians have been unable to determine why this is.

But a study from a German hospital of 45 COVID-19 patients admitted to intensive care reveals the male sex hormone testosterone may play a key role.


The hormone is known to help regulate the body’s immune response but when a man has low levels of testosterone, the immune system is not kept in check and can go haywire following infection.

This leads to a so-called cytokine storm which happens when the immune system goes out of control as it tries to kill the pathogen.

A cytokine storm eventually begins damaging the body itself and, if left unchecked, can be fatal.

The researchers assessed the first 45 laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 patients admitted to the ICU at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf.


Must See: Yellowstone’s Kevin Costner Tells Pro-Gun Story Libs Will Despise
The Western Is Back: Following Costner’s Lead, ‘The Lord of the Rings’ Star Wrote, Directed Upcoming Western Epic
Speaker Johnson meets Gov Abbott in Texas to talk border action, Mayorkas impeachment
Biden cracks down on diesel trucks in bid to fight climate change, reduce emissions
Fourth person charged in Idaho ambush that allowed dangerous inmate to escape Boise hospital
Democratic leader has 2 words for Republicans looking to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas
Dark money-fueled law firm joins Massachusetts climate suit against Big Oil
UC Berkeley parents hire private security over lack of security on campus amid continue area crime
Biden’s star-studded NYC fundraiser raises more than $25M where photo with him, Clinton, Obama costs $100K
Governor Shuts Door on Retail Marijuana Market – ‘Winning States Are Not Doing This’
Doctor Breaks Down Jayden Daniels’ Elbow in Viral Pic that Has Fans Worried
Biden highway climate rule struck down by Texas judge: ‘Unauthorized’
Youngkin vetoes Virginia bills mandating minimum wage increase, establishing marijuana retail sales
How’d They Get Away with This in Hollywood? Netflix’s Hot New Show Highlights the Horrors of Communism
Kentucky bill calling for harsher criminal penalties heads to governor’s desk

Thirty-five were men and ten were women, with seven patients requiring oxygen and 33 of them needing ventilation.  Nine men and three women died.

Hormone levels of each patient were assessed on their first day in ICU, before they had received any invasive procedures.

Samples from the COVID-19 patients were tested for 12 hormones, including testosterone and dihydrotestosterone.

Testosterone is key in how the body initiates and regulates various immune responses, including fighting viral infections.

It plays a particular important role in men’s immunity as it is the main male sex hormone.

Of the male COVID-19 patients sent to ICU at the German hospital, more than two thirds (68.6 per cent) recorded low levels of testosterone.

In contrast, the majority of female patients (60 per cent) had elevated testosterone levels.

While low levels of testosterone can not control the immune response in men, the study found that in female COVID-19 patients, higher testosterone levels were linked to a more significant inflammatory response.

Professor Gülsah Gabriel from the Leibniz Institute for Experimental Virology in Hamburg, who was involved in the research, told MailOnline: ‘The majority of male COVID-19 patients had low testosterone levels.

‘Of those male COVID-19 patients who died, the majority also had low testosterone levels.

‘Thus, low testosterone levels in men seem to be a risk factor for severe and even fatal disease outcome in men upon infection with so-called “cytokine inducing” respiratory viruses.’

Story cited here.

Share this article:
Share on Facebook
Facebook
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter

→ What are your thoughts? ←
Scroll down to leave a comment: