Scientists suggest that men with low testosterone levels are at increased risk of getting seriously ill with covid and being hospitalized.
This was stated by researchers from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the St. Louis University School of Medicine. They compared men diagnosed with COVID-19 with low and normal testosterone levels and concluded that this hormone affects the severity of the disease.
The team analyzed the cases of 723 men who tested positive for COVID-19, mostly in 2020 year before vaccines were available. The data show that low testosterone is an independent risk factor for hospitalization due to COVID-19, similar to diabetes, heart disease, and chronic lung disease.
They found that men with low testosterone who developed COVID -19 were 2.4 times more likely to need hospitalization than men with hormone levels in the normal range. In addition, men with low testosterone levels who were successfully treated with hormone replacement therapy were no more likely to be hospitalized for COVID-19 than men with normal testosterone levels.
Men with low testosterone levels may experience sexual dysfunction, depressed mood, irritability, concentration and memory problems, fatigue, loss of muscle strength, and a general deterioration in well-being. When a man's quality of life clearly deteriorates, he is usually treated with testosterone replacement therapy.
However, when symptoms are mild, doctors and patients may question the need for treatment. But now, scientists say treating men with low testosterone levels could help protect them from serious illness and reduce the strain on hospitals during the COVID-19 waves.