Women, regardless of which country they live in, on average become infected with the new coronavirus less often than men. Women also tolerate this disease more easily. Intensive care is mainly needed by men aged fifty to seventy years.
While no one knows exactly why this is happening, so scientists put forward several theories.
Perhaps women are coping better with the new coronavirus infection because they smoke or have smoked less often and less than men. Because of smoking, men’s lungs may be more vulnerable, and they are more likely to develop pneumonia caused by the sars-CoV-2 virus.
We also know that men are more likely and at a younger age than women to suffer from heart disease, high blood pressure or diabetes, and it is these diseases that exacerbate the course of COVID-19.
You can also find many alternative explanations, for example, that men wash their hands less often than women, or that smokers regularly touch their lips when smoking, and if there is a virus on their hands, this increases the likelihood of infection.
However, one of the hypotheses seems to be the most likely. It lies in the fact that the immune system in women works better than in men. We know that the immune cells and proteins that form our immune system function differently in men and women. There are biological differences caused by genes and enhanced by sex hormones that give women an advantage in fighting the virus, better protecting them from severe and fatal complications of the disease.
And this applies not only to the new coronavirus, but also to all others. Women usually reflect such viral attacks better than men, because their defense mechanisms are activated faster, as a result of which they are less susceptible to infection.
In addition, many genes that are responsible for the immune defense of our body are located on the X chromosome. Women have two X chromosomes in each cell, while men have only one. Thus, women have a double number of genes responsible for the production of interferons — proteins that stimulate our immune system to action.
With more interferons, women can create more effective protection against invading viruses.
Also, the female sex hormone estrogen provides faster immune protection for women from viral infection. In previous pandemics, with other viruses, women were also better prepared to fight infection than men.
We also know that in our body, there are genes that can contribute to a more severe or easier course of diseases.
For example, some people are genetically very vulnerable to the flu. In some people, a herpetic infection due to genetic characteristics easily causes meningitis. Conversely, there are people who are protected from infection with the AIDS virus due to a rare «defect» in their genes.
It is known that the «loophole» for the coronavirus, which is located on the cells of the nasopharyngeal mucosa, and through which the sars-CoV-2 virus gets access to our body, is the ACE-2 receptor. The genes responsible for its synthesis are located on the X chromosome. Differences in the design of the ACE-2 receptor may be the reason for facilitating or hindering the penetration of the virus.
Currently, scientists are trying to find out whether there are genes that make people more vulnerable to a new coronavirus infection, or, conversely, protect against it, regardless of gender. They hope to find typical DNA variants in the genetic profiles of people who have been ill, which will help explain the different severity of the course of the disease.