Gender disparity in COVID-19: Role of sex steroid hormones

Lipsa, Anuja; Prabhu, Jyothi S

doi:10.4103/1995-7645.304293

Cited by 18 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 36 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Among all patients examined in this present study, the majority of moderate or severe cases of COVID-19 involved male patients ( p = 0.014). As studies show the same male predominance [ 8 , 26 , 27 , 28 ], some hypotheses have been raised in an attempt to explain such prevalence, including mechanisms of cell protection mediated by the presence of female hormones, possible gender-related differences in immune responses, and even behavioural differences between men (e.g., smoking, which is more prevalent in male individuals) and women [ 29 , 30 , 31 ]. The higher prevalence of TTV-DNA in male individuals and in more severe cases is similar to the findings reported by other studies of individuals with different causes of immunosuppression [ 32 , 33 , 34 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigation of Oral Shedding of Torquetenovirus (TTV) in Moderate-to-Severe COVID-19 Hospitalised Patients

Caixeta,

Batista,

Caetano

et al. 2024

Viruses

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background. Torquetenovirus (TTV) is a small DNA virus constituting the human virome. High levels of TTV-DNA have been shown to be associated with immunosuppression and inflammatory chronic disorders. Aim. To assess the possible association between the salivary viral load of TTV-DNA in patients hospitalised due to COVID-19 and disease severity. Methods. Saliva samples collected from 176 patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 were used to investigate the presence of SARS-CoV-2 and TTV-DNA by use of real-time RT-PCR. Results. The majority of patients were male with severe COVID-19. Presence of SARS-CoV-2 was observed in the saliva of 64.77% of patients, showing TTV-DNA in 55.68% of them. Patients with impaired clinical conditions (p < 0.001), which evolved to death (p = 0.003), showed a higher prevalence of TTV-DNA. The median viral load in patients with severe condition was 4.99 log10 copies/mL, in which those who were discharged and those evolving to death had values of 3.96 log10 copies/mL and 6.27 log10 copies/mL, respectively. A statistically significant association was found between the distribution of TTV-DNA viral load in saliva samples and severity of COVID-19 (p = 0.004) and disease outcomes (p < 0.001). Conclusions. These results indicate that TTV-DNA in saliva could be a useful biomarker of COVID-19 severity and prognosis.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigation of Oral Shedding of Torquetenovirus (TTV) in Moderate-to-Severe COVID-19 Hospitalised Patients

Caixeta,

Batista,

Caetano

et al. 2024

Viruses

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Biologically, hormones can influence the viral infection in host cells and impair the immune response to viral infection. Strogen may be protective against SARS-CoV-2 infection, while testosterone was associated with disease severity and high levels of serum cytokines in men [ 30 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Cities from the Southern Region of Bahia State, Brazil: Analysis of Variables Associated in Both Individual and Community Level

da Silva,

dos Santos,

Ferreira

et al. 2023

Viruses

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), challenged public health systems worldwide. Individuals in low-income countries/regions are still at individual and community risk concerning inequality, sanitation, and economic conditions. Besides, during the pandemic, the transmission in municipalities and communities in the countryside and less developed regions kept viral spread and required structured and strengthened clinical and laboratory surveillance. Here, we present an observational, analytic, cross-sectional study conducted using secondary data from the Laboratório de Farmacogenômica e Epidemiologia Molecular (LAFEM)-Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz (UESC), to evaluate individual and community factors associated to SARS-CoV-2 infection in outpatients from different cities from Southern Region of Bahia State, in Brazil. The data were collected between June 2021 and May 2022. The SARS-CoV-2 positivity by RT-qPCR was correlated with low socio-economic indicators, including the Human development index (HDIc) and Average worker salary (AWSc). Besides, in general, females were less likely to test positive for SARS-CoV-2 (OR = 0.752; CI 95% 0.663–0.853; p < 0.0001), while brown individuals had more positivity for infection (p < 0.0001). In addition, those who had clinical symptoms were more likely to test positive for SARS-CoV-2 (OR = 6.000; CI 95% 4.932–7.299; p < 0.0001). Although dry cough, headache, and fever were the most frequent, loss of taste (OR = 5.574; CI 95% 4.334–7.186) and loss of smell (OR = 6.327; CI 95% 4.899–8.144) presented higher odds ratio to be positive to SARS-CoV-2 by RT-qPCR. Nonetheless, the distribution of these characteristics was not homogenous among the different cities, especially for age and gender. The dynamic of SARS-CoV-2 positivity differed between cities and the total population and reinforces the hypothesis that control strategies for prevention needed to be developed based on both individual and community risk levels to mitigate harm to individuals and the health system.

show abstract

“…Studies have found that biological sex is a significant risk factor in COVID-19. This is likely due to physiological differences between males and females that can affect the severity of infection and autoimmune responses [ 12 – 15 ].…”

Section: Risk Factors For Acute Covid-19 and Pascmentioning

confidence: 99%

Acute and post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection: a review of risk factors and social determinants

Wang

Ramasamy

Verduzco‐Gutierrez

et al. 2023

Virol J

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

SARS-CoV-2 infection leading to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has caused more than 762 million infections worldwide, with 10–30% of patients suffering from post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infections (PASC). Initially thought to primarily affect the respiratory system, it is now known that SARS-CoV-2 infection and PASC can cause dysfunction in multiple organs, both during the acute and chronic stages of infection. There are also multiple risk factors that may predispose patients to worse outcomes from acute SARS-CoV-2 infection and contribute to PASC, including genetics, sex differences, age, reactivation of chronic viruses such as Epstein Barr Virus (EBV), gut microbiome dysbiosis, and behavioral and lifestyle factors, including patients’ diet, alcohol use, smoking, exercise, and sleep patterns. In addition, there are important social determinants of health, such as race and ethnicity, barriers to health equity, differential cultural perspectives and biases that influence patients’ access to health services and disease outcomes from acute COVID-19 and PASC. Here, we review risk factors in acute SARS-CoV-2 infection and PASC and highlight social determinants of health and their impact on patients affected with acute and chronic sequelae of COVID-19.

show abstract

Gender disparity in COVID-19: Role of sex steroid hormones

Cited by 18 publications

References 36 publications

Investigation of Oral Shedding of Torquetenovirus (TTV) in Moderate-to-Severe COVID-19 Hospitalised Patients

Investigation of Oral Shedding of Torquetenovirus (TTV) in Moderate-to-Severe COVID-19 Hospitalised Patients

SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Cities from the Southern Region of Bahia State, Brazil: Analysis of Variables Associated in Both Individual and Community Level

Acute and post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection: a review of risk factors and social determinants

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About