Coronavirus: Why is the risk higher in men over 50?

While many patients with coronavirus are able to overcome the disease with mild symptoms, some live more severely. Most of these people are men over the age of 50.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is one of them. Johnson was hospitalized on the 10th day of his illness when his symptoms worsened; He has been in intensive care since Monday.

Receiving oxygen but not connected to ventilator.

Who suffers from Covid-19 disease more severely?

Some people have a much more severe risk of getting the disease. Chief among these are patients over the age of 70, even if they do not have any other disease. Regardless of age, those with a chronic disease such as heart disease are also at risk.

There are 1.5 million people in this category in the UK who would need hospital treatment if they contracted the coronavirus.

Among them are people who have previously had cancer and have received chemotherapy. These people are advised not to leave their homes, even if they have recovered now.

Although they have not yet been definitively identified as a separate risk group, it has been observed that men in their 50s and 60s are also more affected by the virus, even if they do not have a chronic condition.

Scientists are not yet sure what causes this.

According to UK data, the average age of patients hospitalized in intensive care due to coronavirus is 60. Most are men, and most of them have ailments such as obesity or heart disease.

According to the data of the UK's National Bureau of Statistics, as of March 27, 44 of the 647 people who died due to coronavirus, or 7 percent, were between the ages of 45-65.

Mortality rates increase with age for both men and women. However, the rate of men who lost their lives is higher than women.

Data from China, the origin of the epidemic, also show that men are more at risk than women. But experts say it's not because of the physical differences between the sexes; He says there may be differences in habits such as smoking.

Ian Hall, Professor of Molecular Medicine at the University of Nottingham, said: "I am absolutely convinced that differences in behavior may be the reason for the much higher risk in men. However, other as yet undetermined factors may also play a role." said.

Men are more likely than women to have a heart attack, develop diabetes, and have chronic lung diseases.

Some experts think that genetics and sex hormones may also play a role.

Are women more immune?

"It's becoming more and more accepted that there are drastic differences between the immune system of women and men, which has implications for the outcome of many epidemics," says Professor Philip Goulder, who studies the immune system at Oxford University.

"Women's immune system's response to vaccines and infectious diseases is much tougher and more effective than that of men."

This may be because women carry twice as many X chromosomes as men. Men have the same number of X and Y chromosomes, while women have an X chromosome instead of a Y chromosome.

Some critical immune genes are located on the X chromosome.

Does the coronavirus cause deaths?

Around 600,000 people die each year across the UK. Most of them are those with serious health problems and the elderly. Just like those who lost their lives after the coronavirus was detected...

Professor Sir David Spiegelhalter at Cambridge University says that 10 percent of those over 80 will die next year. In the event that they contract the coronavirus, this rate will again be 10 percent.

How can you protect yourself?

During these times you stay at home, try to protect your health by doing sports at home and eating a balanced diet.

If you smoke, now is the perfect time to quit.

Here are the things men do more than women throughout their lives:

The coronavirus is spread when an infected person coughs and sneezes. When you breathe this air or touch the places where these particles fall, you can also get the virus when you touch your eyes, nose or mouth.

For this reason, sneezing or coughing on a tissue, touching your face without washing your hands, and not approaching infected people are also some of the precautions you can take to protect your health.