Since the first reports from Wuhan, China, on the new coronavirus, researchers in several countries have noted that a much higher proportion of men than women get seriously ill and die from the disease. "Now, scientists investigating how the virus does its deadly work have zeroed in on a possible reason: Androgens — male hormones such as testosterone — appear to boost the virus' ability to get inside cells," Science Magazine reports. Two small studies from Spain have also found a correlation between COVID-19 hospitalizations and male-pattern baldness, linked to the powerful androgen dihydrotestosterone (DHT).
Researchers in Italy and New York examined prostate cancer patients and found that those on androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT), which sharply reduces the amount of testosterone, were much less likely to contract COVID-19 or be hospitalized with the disease than prostate cancer patients not on ADT.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Is it time to ban smacking in England?Today's Big Question Experts are calling for 'Victorian-era punishment' to be scrapped, but the government isn't ready to act
-
The Arab League's plan for GazaThe Explainer Arab leaders reject Donald Trump's proposals to move Palestinians out of Gaza to create 'Middle East Riviera'
-
Thrilling must-see operas for 2025The Week Recommends From Carmen to Peter Grimes, these are the UK's top productions
-
Texas outbreak brings 1st US measles death since 2015Speed read The outbreak is concentrated in a 'close-knit, undervaccinated' Mennonite community in rural Gaines County
-
Mystery illness spreading in Congo rapidly kills dozensSpeed Read The World Health Organization said 53 people have died in an outbreak that originated in a village where three children ate a bat carcass
-
Ozempic can curb alcohol cravings, study findsSpeed read Weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy may also be helpful in limiting alcohol consumption
-
New form of H5N1 bird flu found in US dairy cowsSpeed Read This new form of bird flu is different from the version that spread through herds in the last year
-
Microplastics accumulating in human brains, study findsSpeed Read The amount of tiny plastic particles found in human brains increased dramatically from 2016 to 2024
-
FDA approves painkiller said to thwart addictionSpeed Read Suzetrigine, being sold as Journavx, is the first new pharmaceutical pain treatment approved by the FDA in 20 years
-
Study finds possible alternative abortion pillSpeed Read An emergency contraception (morning-after) pill called Ella could be an alternative to mifepristone for abortions
-
California declares bird flu emergencySpeed Read The emergency came hours after the nation's first person with severe bird flu infection was hospitalized
