Men at More Risk of Dying From COVID-19

Photo of a deserted street in March 2020 pictured in New York during the Coronavirus pandemic
A deserted street in March 2020 pictured in New York during the Coronavirus pandemic
France 24

A recent study by the China Center for Disease Control (CDC) revealed that men are suffering more deaths due to the Coronavirus compared to women.

Coronavirus has been known to discriminate by order of age and health conditions with most of the deaths recorded being among the aged.

A study by the China CDC has revealed that more men are dying from the Coronavirus compared to women who are recording significantly less deaths.

The trend was first recorded in China, where the CDC analysis found a fatality rate of 2.8% in men compared with 1.7% in women.

A medical personnel holding a Covid-19 virus test kit.
File image of a Covid-19 testing kit.
Twitter

Turns out that the trend was not only happening in China as the pattern has also been mirrored in France, Germany, Iran, Italy, South Korea and Spain.

The statistic is more chilling in Italy where men have accounted for 71% of deaths and, in Spain, data released on Thursday suggests twice as many men as women have died.

Director of the University College London (UCL) Centre for Gender and Global Health, Prof Sarah Hawkes, could not give an explanation on the trend, “The honest answer is none of us know what’s causing the difference."

Professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Sabra Klein, ruled out smoking to be a factor, “The growing observation of increased mortality in men is holding true across China, Italy, Spain. We’re seeing this across very diverse countries and cultures.

"When I see that, it makes me think that there must be something universal that’s contributing to this. I don’t think smoking is the leading factor.

"Their immune system may not initiate an appropriate response when it initially sees the virus."

There have been a number of theories that have been formed to try and explain the numbers with some stating that men are less likely to wash their hands, less likely to use soap.

Others have revealed that men are less likely to seek medical care and more likely to ignore public health advice.

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