A large international study of COVID-19 patients confirms that men are more likely than women to become seriously ill and die of the disease. Researchers pooled data from government websites and the medical literature on more than 3.1 million people infected with the new coronavirus in 46 countries. They found no difference in the proportion of male and female patients who contracted COVID-19. Men, however, were nearly three times more likely to be admitted to an intensive care unit and 39% more likely to die from COVID-19. In a report published in Nature Communications, the investigators said previous studies have found "fundamental differences" in the way men's bodies and women's bodies respond to infections. In people with COVID-19, they write, "these differences are likely to lead to more effective viral control in females." The data has important implications for managing patients and for public health, the researchers said. —Reuters Staff Source
