Abstract
Objective: The recent outbreak of Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) is reminiscent of the SARS outbreak in 2003. We aim to compare the severity and mortality between male and female patients with COVID-19 or SARS.Study Design and Setting: We extracted the data from: (1) a case series of 43 hospitalized patients we treated, (2) a public data set of the first 37 cases of patients who died of COVID-19 and 1,019 patients who survived in China, and (3) data of 524 patients with SARS, including 139 deaths, from Beijing in early 2003.Results: Older age and a high number of comorbidities were associated with higher severity and mortality in patients with both COVID-19 and SARS. Age was comparable between men and women in all data sets. In the case series, however, men's cases tended to be more serious than women's (P = 0.035). In the public data set, the number of men who died from COVID-19 is 2.4 times that of women (70.3 vs. 29.7%, P = 0.016). In SARS patients, the gender role in mortality was also observed. The percentage of males were higher in the deceased group than in the survived group (P = 0.015).Conclusion: While men and women have the same prevalence, men with COVID-19 are more at risk for worse outcomes and death, independent of age.
Highlights
In early December 2019, an outbreak of a novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) occurred in Wuhan city and rapidly spread throughout China, putting the world on alert
We report the clinical characteristics of a recent case series of 43 patients we treated and a public data set of the first 37 cases of those who died from COVID-19 and the 1,019 patients who survived COVID-19
There is no significant difference in median age between male and female groups, but the maximum of the range of IQR is lower in male (66 years in men vs. 73 years in women)
Summary
In early December 2019, an outbreak of a novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) occurred in Wuhan city and rapidly spread throughout China, putting the world on alert. Highthroughput sequencing has revealed a novel β-coronavirus that is currently named severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) [1], which resembles severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) [2]. Severe patients progressed rapidly to Critical conditions, which included symptoms such as acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), acute respiratory failure, coagulopathy, septic shock, and metabolic acidosis. Among the 2,442 deceased patients, most were old and twothirds were males, though the detailed data has not been reported [3]. This raises a question: Are men more susceptible to getting and dying from COVID-19?
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