A recent study by a mother-daughter duo - Dr Jayanthi Shastri and Dr Aditi Shastri, which is yet to be published, found that coronavirus is more common in men than women. Dr Jayanthi Shastri is the head of the Microbiology Department at Kasturba Hospital for Infectious Disease, Mumbai, while Dr Aditi Shastri, is an Assistant Professor of Oncology at the Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York.
The studyCoronavirus can linger in the testicles, making men prone to longer and severe infection. The study was conducted on 68 patients in Mumbai, which found the gender disparity of the virus and why it can take a serious toll on men. The study was posted on MeRixix that hosts unpublished research papers that are still to be reviewed.
This protein called angiotensin is present in the lungs, gastrointestinal tract, heart and in large quantities in the testicles.
Because the testicles are walled off from the immune system, the virus could harbour there for longer periods from the rest of the body. That is why women bounce back from the virus more quickly than men.
The study evaluated that on an average, a female patient can be cleared of the virus in four days, while men take around six days.
“These observations demonstrate that male subjects have delayed viral clearance,” the authors wrote, adding that the testicles may be serving as “reservoirs” for the virus.
The study offers an explanation for reports out of Italy, South Korea and New York City that men are dying at higher rates from the virus.
Other studies have shown that men are more vulnerable because they are more likely to smoke, have high blood pressure and suffer from coronary artery disease.
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