One of the first solid quantified studies was carried out in Italy, in Puglia, from February 29 to June 30, 2020, during the first wave, therefore. One total of 1,175 cases were identified among 55,131 tests carried out:
- cases were evenly split between the sexes: 50.7% female
- the proportion of hospitalizations was 45,4% in men vs. 37,9% in women
- the case fatality rate was 16,4% camong men, once morest 10,4% in women
Another international study of more than 3 million cases from 46 different countries in the world, went in the same direction: no difference in proportion for the infection, but the study concludes that “ male patients almost three times more likely to require an intensive treatment unit” and “a higher risk of death” of regarding 40%.
In Belgium, the total number of deaths seems more evenly distributed, with 51.7% of deaths involving men, but there are two biases to eliminate: women are more numerous, and above all, they live longer. And therefore, their number is much greater in the age group of over 85 years old, which is precisely the most at risk of death for Covid. If we isolate the 45-64 age group, on the other hand, of the 2,204 deaths since the start of the epidemic, 66.3% concern men, only 33.6% women. A man aged 45 to 64 therefore has statistically twice the risk to die of Covid than a woman of the same age.
“There are no more infected men, no more susceptibility to the virus“, confirms Pierre Coulie, geneticist at the Institutet of biomedical research De Duve, who agreed to comment on the studies on the subject for us. “But we observe in all the studies 2 to 3 times more serious cases in men, and a mortality rate regarding 40% higher. The difference is greatest between ages 55 and 65 where mortality is twice as high in men“
