A study into coronavirus’s risk factors has found out that men are twice as likely to die from coronavirus as women, it has emerged.
According to the study, some of the underlying reasons for this is the fact that heart disease is more common in elderly men than in elderly women.
It stated that high blood pressure and liver disease are more prevalent in men and such underlying conditions contribute to more negative outcomes with COVID-19.
The study states that genetics may also play a big role being that women, because of their extra X chromosome, have a stronger immune system and response to infections than men.
Also, according to UK’s National Health Service (NHS) analysis of 17.4 million patients records, elderly, obese and ethnic minorities are also substantially more likely to fall victim to the illness.
It revealed that black and Asian people are 1.7 and 1.6 times more likely to die from the virus than whites, respectively, Daily Mail reports.
This is in line with study earlier reported by MDB on May 1st. The study from Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) found out that Black and Asian Britons are two and half times likely to die from coronavirus than the white.
However, contrary to a previous study making the rounds, scientists from Oxford University and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine have suggested that smoking may have a protective effect against coronavirus.
According to the research, those who had never smoked were twice as likely to pass from the virus compared to current cigarette users.
It is the latest in a growing line of studies to suggest smokers have a lower risk of becoming seriously ill with COVID-19, which researchers describe as ‘weird’.
Among the 17.4 million people included in the research database, 5,707 died from COVID-19 between February 1 and April 25.
The NHS research found that being over 80 years of age or having an underlying condition like heart disease or uncontrolled diabetes were by far the biggest risk factors.
But it also showed sex and age played a huge role – with men 1.99 times as likely to die as women.
People in their sixties were twice as likely to die as those in their fifties, while the risk for over-70s went up fivefold. For those older than 80, it was 12 times as high.
Dr Ben Goldacre of University of Oxford, who co-led the study, said the findings should be used to decide policy when easing lockdown.
