New research from King's College London said that post-menopausal women might be more likely to get a severe coronavirus case. They based their research from almost 600,000 women in the United Kingdom who use the COVID Symptom Study app.
People who use the app report their health status every day, including how they feel and experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms. The found out that 22% of post-menopausal women are more likely to report symptoms of COVID-19 than younger women who still have their periods.
Moreover, these women are more likely to be hospitalized and need respiratory support, a sign of having a severe type of infection.
The study also suggests that HRT drugs, which contain artificial estrogen that helps relieve menopause, may boost the immune system and lessen symptoms of COVID-19. More so, younger women using contraceptive pills containing estrogen also had lower rates of COVID-19 symptoms.
Estrogen Could Protect Women From COVID-19
Women have estrogen hormones that regulate the female reproductive system. However, as a woman gets older, levels of estrogen slowly go down and plummet in post-menopausal women who can influence bodily functions, including the immune system.
According to lead author, Dr. Ricardo Costeira, estrogen could protect women against COVId-19. This explains why the disease and a related coronavirus infection called MERS pose more threat to men than women.
"It has been well-illustrated that females generally mount greater inflammatory, antiviral, and humoral immune responses than males," the authors wrote.
On average, women reach menopause at the age of 51. The data gathered by the researchers are from 44,000 post-menopausal women who no longer have their periods for the last five years. They compared the data to 108,000 pre-menopausal women who still had their regular periods.
The findings showed that 22% of post-menopausal women were likely to report COVID-19 symptoms. Moreover, they reported persistent cough and loss of either taste or smell. They also report high fever and other symptoms at far higher rates.
Furthermore, post-menopausal women were 4% more likely to be hospitalized, and 60% are more likely to need respiratory support. However, this study was not published in a medical journal since in the first place, academics did not look into whether specific groups of women were likely to have the virus.
Older people are more vulnerable to the coronavirus because they have a weaker immune system, making it harder for them to clear the virus quickly.
Why Might Estrogen Protect Women From COVID-19?
Research shows that females have a stronger response to viral infections compared to males. But knowing the reason behind it could be difficult and is based mainly on chromosomes, reproductive organs, and sex hormone levels.
Generally, women have a higher antiviral immune response than men during viral infections, including SARS-CoV-2. According to experts, estrogen can influence how the body functions and thereby affect how the immune system functions.
The estrogen levels may vary during the menstrual cycle, but they are high during pregnancy and low after menopause in women. According to scientists, loss of sex hormones such as estrogen, due to aging, could reduce immune function in women.
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