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Covid

Do we know yet why 70% of corona virus deaths are men?

65 replies

NotSuchASmugMarriedNow1 · 26/03/2020 13:37

Does anyone know the reason for this? I can't remember whether it was 70% of victims or 70% of deaths .

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awkwardbuttons · 26/03/2020 13:38

More likely to have heart problems? Just a guess

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Thescrewinthetuna · 26/03/2020 13:39

Many theories, men don’t seek medical help as often as women, more likely to suffer cardiovascular conditions, more likely to smoke, less likely to follow hygiene as stringently as women. Nobody really knows why though.

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middleager · 26/03/2020 13:39

In China I think they said more men smoked.

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Tableclothing · 26/03/2020 13:41

The data is still developing so it may not be the case, but if it is:

They smoke more.

In some countries, men go out and about a lot more than women.

Men die sooner than women anyway, so it seems reasonable to me* that a typical 80 year old man would be in poorer health to start with than a typical 80 year old woman.

*happy to be corrected by the more knowledgeable.

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SquatBetty · 26/03/2020 13:43

There's a Guardian article about this online but no definitive answer - something to do with differences in women's and men's immune systems possibly.
www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/26/men-are-much-more-likely-to-die-from-coronavirus-but-why

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Blewbell · 26/03/2020 13:44

God's a woman?

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Bluntness100 · 26/03/2020 13:45

The smoking is a weird one, it seems smokers are less likely to catch it but if they do more likely to have serious complications, so many unknowns in this.

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NotSuchASmugMarriedNow1 · 26/03/2020 13:46

In some countries, men go out and about a lot more than women.

I never thought about this until you said and that certainly makes sense, especially in places like Dubai where there are huge barracks of migrant male workers employed in construction.

But we have the same issues here. Maybe men here go out more than women too. I never thought of that before.

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OhMy05 · 26/03/2020 13:51

This phenomenon is replicated in all countries so far. It’s been said it’s a combination of genetics, social and psychological reasons.
They may have more biological receptors to the virus, more smoke, less likely to follow instructions about distancing and hand washing , less likely to seek medical assistance...so a whole myriad of things.
They’re still looking into the reasons.

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Quartz2208 · 26/03/2020 13:52

It looks like SARS and MERS were the same as well

www.advisory.com/daily-briefing/2020/02/25/men-coronavirus

But women have always been seen to have a stronger immune system

www.livescience.com/16268-female-immune-system-stronger-males-genetics.html

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mindutopia · 26/03/2020 13:56

Women tend to have stronger immune systems (they survive all sorts of things at higher rates than men). There was some suggestion that higher rates of 'lifestyle' related health issues may also have something to do with it - things like heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, chronic lung diseases related to smoking or occupational exposures, etc. - many of which are higher in men. Realistically, men may also be those most likely to be in the workforce, which means more chance of exposure (we know this isn't necessarily the case, but may be in some instances), but also more intense exposures (think bus drivers being exposed throughout the day to poorly ventilated air). Generally speaking, men do tend to be less robust and have lower rates of survival for lots of acute and chronic conditions, so not surprising.

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SecondaryBurnzzz · 26/03/2020 13:56

I heard that it could be that men have historically done jobs that affect and weaken their lungs; coal mining, building work etc, which affects their ability to fight off chest infections etc.

Do we know why Iran has been so hard hit by Coronavirus?

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defthand · 26/03/2020 13:58

I don’t think it’s smoking. I read a Chinese study that found only a small uptick in likelihood of death in smokers.

I think it’s because women have more effective immune systems.

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Muchtoomuchtodo · 26/03/2020 13:58

I think men are statistically more likely to have high BP and cardiovascular problems. That’s likely to have an effect.

Or perhaps men are just hopeless at washing their hands and not touching their faces!

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KaptenKrusty · 26/03/2020 14:08

does it matter

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maslinpan · 26/03/2020 14:11

It matters because the more we can understand it, the better equipped we are to control it.

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Quartz2208 · 26/03/2020 14:12

@SecondaryBurnzzz my belief with Iran its a mixture of air pollution (I think there must be a correlation as some of the worst affected places have poor air quality), years of chemical warfare from the Iraq/Iran and Gulf war and an unwillingness to deal with it

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YouAreTheEggManIAmTheWalrus · 26/03/2020 14:14

Because someone decided that men were fucking up the entire world so cooked up a dastardly plan to wipe them out but spare the women and children.

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sassbott · 26/03/2020 14:19

Based on my limited point of view?

Look at the videos on social media? If you look at early videos in India of avoiding ‘social distancing’ on the short clip I watched, 90% (at least) were men celebrating in the streets.

The sporting fixtures that are being said to be the main breeding grounds, in Europe? Football matches? Huge proportion of attendees were male.

Over 6 weeks ago when none of this was in any ‘real’ to us. I bought a 6 pack of hand Sanitiser easily. I mentioned to my DP and my exh to do the same and they both scoffed at me. Same when I introduced stringent hand washing as soon as anyone came in from outside.

So in a nutshell? I think men take this a lot less seriously (and I say is semi tongue in cheek knowing that some male friends have underlying health conditions and have been taken this very seriously for weeks).

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middleager · 26/03/2020 14:20

I know a lot of men who dismissed CV.

My boss went to the big Liverpool Milan match and Cheltenham, my husband is still not cautious when he goes out, my dad has been quite arrogant about it too and when I dare to ventrure out lots and lots of MAMILs and joggers dominating the pavements.

That said, my SIL and mother have been blase too....

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sassbott · 26/03/2020 14:20

And before I get villified for stockpiling. The pack of 6 was for my DC, my part time nanny, my childrens schoolbags with a spare to keep in the car.

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AlexaCrowe · 26/03/2020 14:21

Just anecdotally across social media and forums and my real life all I hear is that ‘men can’t stay in’ - they keep finding ‘excuses’ to go out, refuse to self/isolate. Eg on MN alone we have men who run takeaways driving hours to pick up a friends daughter, men who keep going out. In the news was a man who gave his wife and kids CV after going to meet his mistress. Boys and men coughing and spitting in people’s faces so they must be out.

Men are also less hygienic - scientific studies show something like less than a third of men wash their hands after they use a public loo. Again across social media, forums and my real life women are complaining of men not washing their hands and coughing into the air.

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feelingverylazytoday · 26/03/2020 14:21

I suspect the main reason is biological, as it holds true for every country.

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Siameasy · 26/03/2020 14:26

I was always under the impression that testosterone had something to do with it. Also the fact that males are more expendable than females. One male and many females-ok as he can impregnate them all. One female and many males-pointless as female can only carry one offspring at a time.

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Sparklfairy · 26/03/2020 14:26

I also think that women are socially conditioned to care for others first, before ourselves. Men's thinking stops at 'i won't get it/if I do I won't be too ill' women automatically think of their children and elderly relatives and who else they might pass it onto.

Not all men obviously, but everyone I know that's been daft and not careful have been men and that is their automatic go to response: I will be fine.

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