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

[NotSuchASmugMarriedNow1]

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

[Heatherjayne1972]

My uneducated guess is that biologically women need stronger immune systems
As we are the child bearers/ child care provider /
As far as evolution/ biology goes that is

[EveWasShamed]

This thread is interesting reading as in our household I’m the one who’s worried about it and DH isn’t concerned at all as if he gets it he’ll ‘only get a mild case’

[Quartz2208]

@EveWasShamed sadly the stats very much show the opposite women seem to get it more but men outweigh women in ICU and death rate

[Mummyoflittledragon]

Women have stronger immune systems than men. This is also partly why there is a higher mortality in male children - weaker genetics.

[EveWasShamed]

@Quartz2208 he’s convinced because we’re in our 20s if we get it it’ll not be that bad, which may be true but there’s no guarantees! He knows I’m worried though - I have anxiety at the best of times - so he’s more than happy to observe the guidelines.

[Aposterhasnoname]

I read a study somewhere about sars that said female mice were less susceptible than males, but if they removed their overuse, they were more likely to die from it.

[definitelygc]

It's genetic. Women have stronger immune systems. They're also less likely to get cancer. This is not widely understood because women have always been seen as "the weaker sex" and many medical trials have been done only on men.

The idea that men are more likely to be infected with coronavirus doesn't really hold up as if someone in the household gets it they're highly likely to pass it on to everyone else.

[AlpineSnow]

My GP said women tend to suffer health problems 10 years later than men. So maybe to do with underlying health conditions

[ShastaBeast]

I saw stats suggesting an equal number of men and women get it but men are more likely to be hospitalised and die. So social reasons won’t explain it. Although hygiene and exposure may contribute- higher number of viral particles (or whatever they are called) causing more severe illness.

I’ve hear women are more robust and female premature babies have better survival rates. Is it true women are more like to suffer with auto-immune disorders? So their immune systems are ‘too strong’? I’ve heard having babies can impact the immune system long after the birth too, having foreign dna in the body etc.

If we have it I’m much worse than DH so it’s not helping me being female sadly, although hopefully no hospital or worse to come.

[LastTrainEast]

Because when we men get ill we tend to carry on uncomplaining?

(Don't mind me, humour gets me through the day)


It would be good to know why in case it is behavioural

[browzingss]

I read something on Twitter a week or so ago (can’t find it now) that many elderly Asian people seem to be dying from COVID-19 in the UK, because culturally they live with multiple generations in the household. So the elderly members couldn’t really self isolate/shield.

[TheABC]

@browzingss, that saddens but does not surprise me.

I am worried it's likely to occur with carers too: if you are disabled or infirm, you can't really self-shield if you are getting care 4 - 6 times a day. The same applies to care homes: they are really struggling due to food restrictions and staff self-isolating.

[anothernotherone]

mindutopia women are actually more limely to be at the highest risk of exposure - more women nurses and nurses are in closer more prolonged contact than doctors, more women nursery and primary teachers - very hard to maintain 1.5 meter distance, vastly more shop floor supermarket workers are women.

Women outnumber men 5:1 in the occupations where its impossible to socially distance properly (was just reading an article but its in German) so its not that.

[PigletJohn]

men are genetically more susceptible to viral infections.

In some quarters it is popular to mock "man flu"

[BeetrootRocks]

The men going out and having more contact thing doesn't really make sense as loads of them will live with women and other family and pass it on that way.

[Hearhoovesthinkzebras]

My hospital consultant told me that "this virus likes high blood pressure". If that's true, it might well be that men suffer hypertension more than women.

[2020newme]

Interesting question.

Its odd when you consider that around 80% of carers and health staff are women, and that's not just in Europe. Those women should be more likely to contract the virus.

From my own observations and conversations, so not remotely scientific, men are far more likely to be dismissive about COVID -19 and far less likely to apply social distancing. I wonder if women are brought up to "obey the rules?" and in this case it is actually protecting them?

[bengalcat]

Our immune systems are more robust . Biologically females are the stronger sex .

[Wingedharpy]

Many men don't wash their hands enough......and most of them can't wipe their feet for love nor money.

Not that feet wiping is an issue in this case.

[Delatron]

It has to be biological though if it holds true across all countries and societies.

I did read it was to do with women having stronger immune systems.

[rhowton]

Because woman have been truly fucked throughout history so karma??

[BeetrootRocks]

Maybe we have stronger immune systems to protect because of childbirth, which often involves open wounds and infection kills. And children without a mother back through human evolution would have been less likely to survive, no milk to feed etc.

I don't know if it's karma as women's job has always been to quietly and smilingly clean up any messes. So during and in the aftermath of this, I suspect a lot of the work and also the sacrifice will fall to women.

[Branster]

Women were found to have more resistance to infections and illnesses in general. They are more resistant. Men also burn quicker, in the sense that the use up energy fast and in excess so there is a higher strain on their body including the immune system. There was a very, very good article in the Magazine section of the Sunday Times where a (male) doctor or scientist, American I think, was on a path of proving that women are the stronger sex in terms of longevity and illnesses. He wrote or was writing a book about it. I wish I kept as it was a very good read. Sometime end Feb- beginning of March. Does anyone know how we could find it online, I can’t see a way through the Times website. Maybe someone with a subscription would be kind to search and let us know it’s there and the title as there might be a free synopsis available elsewhere online. I’m pretty sure in the same article, He also touched on medicines not being as effective for women as they were mostly created for the male metabolism and indicated that this might be a reason for women having more side effects from medication. It starts with animal testing and research where male mice are better candidates.

[MrsTerryPratchett]

My evolution professor used to describe Y chromosomes as sad, small, deformed X chromosomes. And there's some truth to that. Have a look at a picture of them together. Bless.

[PertEllaTitsahoy]

Men are more likely to be ill enough to be admitted to hospital and die, but women will account for a large proportion of non-hospital deaths.

It is to do with our immune systems being stronger, I think it's because we have 2 X chromosomes. As women live longer than men, most of the elderly people dying outside of hospital will be women