Women with SARS-CoV-2 infection are less likely to be admitted to hospital than men, and at times of admission, they present with lower average parameters of respiratory and inflammatory-induced inflammation. with COVID-19, according to a new study.
In data presented at the Conference on Retroviruses and Fair Diseases (CROI) 2021 semantic sessions this week, a team of Johns Hopkins University researchers reported on recognizable differences in malignancy. COVID-19 among men and women, and at different ages.
The findings could show the ways in which clinicians could monitor suspected SARS-CoV-2 and a person’s risk for significant disease progression.
As author Eileen P. Scully, MD, PhD, stated in her presentation, early pandemic data suggested a bias in the risk of male mortality. Up to February 2021, males have accounted for less than half (49%) of the SARS-CoV-2 tests, but have accounted for 57% of men. all deaths, based on data from 132 countries.
Whether or not this is due in whole or in part to factors including gender bias seeking different gender, health status, disease presentation, comorbidities, or treatment responses remains at 12 months of age. pandemic.
“The mechanisms for this effect have not yet been elucidated, and may offer therapeutic targets for intervention,” said Scully.
Scully and colleagues evaluated data from the five Johns Hopkins Medicine (JHM) hospital system for SARS-CoV-2 test validation and entry rates from March – October 2020. They used the JHM COVID-19, JH-CROWN, chart to diagnose patients detailed extract -level data, analyzed for male-female differences through descriptive statistics.
Of the 213,175 tests seen, 57% were performed in women; they reported a favorable SARS-CoV-2 level (8.2%) with males (8.9%). However, males were more likely to be hospitalized after SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis (33% versus 28%).
Among the 2608 patients hospitalized with SARS-CoV-2, more males reported fever; women report more frequent headaches, loss of smell, and vomiting (P. <.05).
In terms of respiratory measurements, women had more favorable images on average, with lower respiratory rates and higher SpO2: FiO2 ratios than men (P. <.001).
Females reported lower IL-6, ferritin, CRP, higher total lymphocyte count, and lower neutrophil: lymphocyte ratios in females at intubation and lab peak values.
The burden of comorbidity, all Charlson scores, was similar across gender, but markedly different: women had higher levels of obesity and asthma (P. <.001). Heart disease (P. = .06), high tolerance complex (P. <.01), chronic kidney disease, smoking, and alcohol use (P. <.001) were all larger among males.
Medication prescribed to fight SARS-CoV-2 was similarly more common among men and women, although tocilizumab was prescribed more frequently for men.
Overall, men had more severe disease and death outcomes across all age groups observed (36%) than women (36%; P. <.001). The most significant gender outcome difference was among patients in the 18-49 year age group, where it was more than double for men (25% vs. 11%; P. <.001).
Despite higher levels of obesity and asthma among hospitalized SARS-CoV-2 patients, women were less likely to be hospitalized because of the virus than men, and had less severe outcomes, and they provided less severe respiratory and inflammatory parameters.
The findings highlight features of SARS-CoV-2 risk factors for men and women, and provide closer guidance on individual risk reduction.
Despite being overweight, women had a lower rate of respiratory parameters and lower swelling symptoms and a lower frequency of adverse outcomes from SARS-CoV-2 infection. Interaction of sex and age with severe disease reveals unique risk characteristics that are unique to both men and women.
“Taken together, these data suggest that gender differences in inflammatory response to SARS-CoV-2 infection and subsequent clinical manifestations are mediators of the differences we see in outcomes. male and female, and suggest that we should focus on the immune system. response after we come across this virus. “