Low Testosterone in Men with COVID-19 6X More Likely to Turn Severely Ill, Die From the Virus - Study

A new study recently showed low testosterone in men who have symptomatic COVID-19 are six times more likely to turn severely ill and eventually die from the disease.

The National Herald news site reported that the study, conducted by researchers at San Raffaele University Hospital in Milan, Italy discovered that the lower the testosterone levels, the higher the possibility that male patients would require intensive care, be intubated on a ventilator, and stay in hospital for a longer period.

For this research, the team compared 286 male COVID-19 patients who reported at the hospital's emergency department with 305 healthy male volunteers between February and May in 2020.

As a result, almost 90 percent of the patients had testosterone lower than 9.2 nanomoles per liter, compared to only 17 percent of the healthy volunteers.

Male participants who had testosterone levels between three and four nanomoles per liter and had mild symptoms were admitted to the hospital, while those who needed intensive care or died of COVID-19 had only 0.7 to 1.0 nanomoles per liter.

COVID-19 Patients with Extremely Low Testosterone Levels

At the onset of the pandemic, far more men compared to women were seen coming to the hospital and suffering quite severe forms of the illness.

A similar ET Healthworld report said, according to the hospital's urology and endocrinology specialist, Professor Andrea Salonia, they immediately thought what they initially found might be related to male hormone levels, specifically testosterone.

However, the specialist continued, they never expected to see such a high proportion of COVID-19 patients with these extremely low testosterone levels, compared with a similar group of healthy male individuals.

The association is very clear, added Salonia, that the lower the testosterone, the higher the condition's severity and the likelihood of death. The expert continued, "I have never seen anything like it in my 25 years in the field."

Testosterone's Role in Protecting Men from Disease

The team does not have the data, though, on the testosterone levels in the patients before they got infected with COVID-19.

More so, they cannot say if low testosterone was a pre-existing long-term condition that exacerbated the disease or if it was a result of the SARS CoV-2 virus.

Salonia explained, Testosterone does not play a role in shielding men from illness. Nonetheless, it is possible, too, that the virus itself can induce an acute drop in testosterone levels, which then predisposes these men to worsen a result.

Results of the study will be presented at the 2021 European Association of Urology or EAU21 Congress, which is happening from July 8 to 12.

Earlier Related Research

Earlier in May, a related Mirage News report said research from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis suggested that, among males, "the opposite may be true," that low levels of testosterone in the blood associated with more severe disease.

This said study at the time of the report could not prove that low testosterone levels are a cause of severe COVID-19. It added that low levels could merely serve as a marker of some other underlying factors.

Still, the study authors urged warning with ongoing clinical trials examining hormonal therapies that would block or lower testosterone or increase estrogen as a treatment for COVID-19 in men.

Related information about the link between low testosterone levels and COVID-19 is shown on Dr. KK Agarwal's YouTube video below:

Check out more news and information on COVID-19 on Science Times.