Men could be more vulnerable to COVID-19 due to the high level of an enzyme named Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) which is a functional receptor for coronaviruses.
The coronavirus infects the body cells using this same enzyme.
Earlier, FIT had reported about studies that suggested men are more vulnerable to coronavirus. The new study published in the European Heart Journal also found out that drugs given to patients with congestive heart failure, diabetes or kidney disease namely ACE inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) do not lead to higher ACE2 - which essentially means they do not increase the COVID-19 related risks.
According to a report in Reuters, Iziah Sama, a doctor at UMC Groningen who co-published the new study said,
The study surveyed 3,500 heart failure patients and none of them were COVID-19 positive. Scientists only wanted to check the presence of high level of ACE2 in men. Other studies have established links between coronavirus and ACE2.
It says,
“In two independent cohorts of patients with heart failure, plasma concentrations of ACE2 were higher in men than in women, but use of neither an ACE inhibitor nor an ARB was associated with higher plasma ACE2 concentrations.”
It further adds, "These data might explain the higher incidence and fatality rate of COVID-19 in men, but do not support previous reports suggesting that ACE inhibitors or ARBs increase the vulnerability for COVID-19 through increased plasma ACE2 concentrations."
Earlier, a report from Italy had shown that of the total COVID-19 deaths, men contributed to 70% deaths in Italy. These were mainly elderly men.
Experts and doctors have also suggested that the reasons why men are more prone to the virus have something to do with immunological, hormonal and genetic factors.
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