It’s in the blood: Study suggests reason why men are more likely to die from COVID-19
Since outbreaks of the new coronavirus emerged, studies have shown that men are more likely than women to die in the hospital from the disease.
Now, new research says the enzyme — ACE 2— that gives the pathogen power to infect human cells is higher in men than in women, giving the virus extra access to men’s lungs.
The peer-reviewed research provides a possible explanation behind the gender disparity in coronavirus-related deaths. The paper was published Sunday in the European Heart Journal.
“When we found that one of the strongest biomarkers, ACE2, was much higher in men than in women, I realized that this had the potential to explain why men were more likely to die from COVID-19 than women,” said Dr. Iziah Sama, study co-author and faculty member at the University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG) in the Netherlands, according to Business Insider.
Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) performs vital functions like aiding in digestion and metabolism, but in the case of SARS-CoV-2, it also serves as a latching site for the virus to cling on and sneak into human cells.
The enzyme is found in large numbers in the heart, kidneys, testis, and lungs, according to the study. It is also thought to be responsible for the “increased vulnerability of older people with cardiovascular disease,” the study said.
This is why — before the pandemic began — the researchers wanted to study ACE2 concentrations in older men and women with heart failure in 11 European countries.
But when news spread that the enzyme played a role in coronavirus infection, they acknowledged the overlaps.
After analyzing the blood of 1,485 men and 537 women in their upper 60s and above, the researchers found that ACE2 was more prevalent in men than women, “possibly reflecting higher tissue expression of this receptor for SARS coronavirus infections,” the study said.
“This could explain why men might be more susceptible to infection with, or the consequences of SARS-CoV-2.”
While men and women seem to be infected at about the same rate, according to several studies, males are about 50% more likely to die than females from COVID-19, the disease the coronavirus causes, Business Insider reported.
They are also 2.5 times more likely to suffer from severe symptoms than women, according to a study published in April in the Lancet. This is likely due to differences in social behavior like increased smoking and poorer hygiene compared to women, and sex hormones that affect immune system responses.
Two clinical trials are underway to determine if men could benefit from receiving female sex hormones, which are known to fight infections particularly well thanks to pregnancy, but some experts disagree with the projects, McClatchy previously reported.
Elderly women with reduced hormone levels after menopause still have higher survival rates than men their age, suggesting female hormones may not play as big a role in fighting the virus.
The researchers also wanted to learn if ACE inhibitors — heart medications that lower blood pressure — and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBS) increased the enzyme’s concentration in the blood, which could lead to a higher risk of infection from the coronavirus, studies say.
These drugs are typically given to patients with congestive heart failure, kidney disease or diabetes, Reuters reported.
However, the study found that patients receiving these medications did not have higher levels of ACE2 in their blood.
This, researchers said, gives the OK for patients with heart failure to continue using the drugs while also suffering from COVID-19, according to Adriaan Voors, study co-author and cardiology professor at the UMCG, Reuters reported.
Some of the limitations of the research include the exclusive study of older individuals with heart disease, and the lack of a “direct link between the course of COVID-19 disease in patients with low vs. high plasma ACE2 concentrations,” the paper said, given the subjects were not infected with the virus.
This story was originally published May 11, 2020 at 12:24 PM with the headline "It’s in the blood: Study suggests reason why men are more likely to die from COVID-19."
