Bald Men Have A Higher Risk Of COVID-19

Bald men may be at higher risk of suffering from severe Covid-19 symptoms, emerging evidence suggests.

In fact, the link is so strong that some researchers have a feeling that baldness should be considered a risk factor called the "Gabrin sign", after the first US physician who was bald died of Coronavirus in the United States.

The lead author of this important research behind the association, Professor Carlos Wambier of Brown University, claimed that they really think that baldness is a perfect predictor of severity.

Data since the beginning of the outbreak in Wuhan, China, in January has really shown that men are more likely to die after getting coronavirus. In the UK, a report from Public Health England found that working-age males were twice more likely as females to die after being diagnosed with Covid-19.

Until recently, scientists have been confused at why it might be, pointing to factors. These include lifestyle, smoking, and immune system differences between the sexes. But soon enough they believed that it might be because androgens - male sex hormones like testosterone - might play a part in boosting the ability of Coronavirus to attack cells.

One Of The Key Study

In one of the studies, 79 per cent of the men suffering with Coronavirus in three Madrid hospitals were bald. The study of 122 patients, followed an old work piece, in that among 41 patients of the Spanish hospitals, almost found 71 per cent were bald.

Now, the background rate of baldness in white men of similar ages to that of the patients studied is between 31-53 per cent. In fact, a correlation was found in the study among the smaller numbers of women with hair loss linked to androgens.

Other scientists claimed that more work needs to be done; however, they were happy with the potential links discovered.

Another Study

A study from Veneto, Italy, of 9,280 patients found that men suffering from prostate cancer, and who were on androgen-deprivation therapy drugs had just a quarter chance to contract Covid-19 as men with the disease who were on other treatments.

The Head of Policy at Prostate Cancer UK, Karen Stalbow said: “There have been several recent pieces of research which indicate there may be a link between male hormones and increased risk of Covid-19. This has led some researchers to investigate whether hormone therapies commonly used to treat prostate cancer, such as enzalutamide, could reduce this risk.

She further added,“ However, most of the research so far has been in the lab, and there is conflicting evidence over whether the hormone therapies have the same impact in the lungs as they would in prostate cells. There are now several clinical studies starting which hope to address these issues, but much more evidence is needed before we can know whether these hormone therapies would be an effective treatment for Covid-19.”

Now, it is just a matter of time to see if at all COVID-19 and men baldness are related. It is also expected that more researches and studies would follow soon.