ROCK HILL, S.C. — When it comes to COVID-19, certainly there is a lot of information.
This time, we’re looking at the virus as far as who it impacts more, men or women.
Right now, doctors say there are theories as to why men are more likely to die from COVID-19 than women.
According to physicians at Riverview Family Medicine & Urgent Care in Rock Hill, men were more affected than women during the SARS outbreak in 2003, something they’re seeing with the current pandemic.
Some of the theories include behaviors. Men drink and smoke more.
Doctors say women are also thought to have a more robust immune system because of pregnancy.
Because women have two X chromosomes and men have only one, doctors say genes on the X deal more with immunity, hence why women can fight off Coronavirus easier than men.
“I saw that they were doing studies on mice with SARS virus and they took away the estrogen from the female mice and they were getting infections and dying from the SARS just as much as the male mice at that point,” Dr. Given said. “We tried the same thing and took away the testosterone and that didn’t make any difference whatsoever, so the theory is that estrogen plays some part in protecting from the virus.”
Riverview Family Medicine & Urgent Care’s Dr. Given stresses these are only theories and no one knows for sure why more men die from Coronavirus.
He says studies are still being done at John Hopkins University in Maryland to test these theories.
The doctor says South Carolina is on the path to peaking when it comes to Coronavirus. For now, people should continue to stay at home, practice to social distancing and keep up with CDC guidelines.
