Sex Differences in COVID-19 Mortality: A Meta-Analysis with E-COVID Study

Abstract

Background: COVID-19 disease spreads rapidly and becomes more widespread with the emergence of new variants. The ratio of death cases due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) in men is greater than in women. Recent research has found that men are more likely to have COVID-19 with severe symptoms and more at risk of death. This study aimed to examine the effect of sex on mortality in COVID-19 patients without comorbidities. Methods: This research was a systematic review and meta-analysis. The articles were obtained from several electronic databases including Google Scholar, PubMed, Scilit, Emerald Insight, Plos One, Sage Journal, JSTOR, World Cat, and ProQuest. The articles used in this study were articles that had been published from 2010-2019. The keywords to search for articles were as follows: gender and COVID-19 and HR, "gender and COVID-19 mortality and HR", "sex and COVID-19 mortality and HR", and "gender and COVID-19 mortality and HR". The articles included were full-text with an observational study design/cohort study. The articles were collected using PRISMA diagrams and analyzed using the Review Manager 5.3 application. Results: Males have 1.42 times the risk of dying from COVID-19 compared to females (in non-comorbid conditions) (aHR=1.42; CI 95%=1.27 to 1.59; p<0.001). Conclusion: Male sex is associated with an increased risk of mortality.