Men may be more vulnerable to coronavirus due to pulmonary enzyme: study

According to a new study, one reason why men are more likely to die from coronavirus than women may be due to high levels of a particular enzyme in their lungs, which helps coronavirus get there. root.

The study, of over 3,500 people, was published on May 10 in the European Heart Journal, a peer-reviewed publication.

He found higher concentrations of angiotensin 2 converting enzyme (ACE2) in male subjects than in women. The sample size was selective: the 3,500 people were elderly and suffering from heart failure.

None of them were infected with the coronavirus. But the researchers involved believe that other research into how ACE2 interacts with the virus may help explain the disparity in death rates between men and women.

Present in several organs, including the lungs, ACE2 binds to coronaviruses like the one that causes COVID-19 and facilitates their infection by healthy cells, according to one of the study authors.

Adriaan Voors is a professor of cardiology at the Groning University Medical Center in the Netherlands, where the study was conducted.

He told the European Cardiology Society.: "High levels of ACE2 are present in the lungs and, therefore, are thought to play a crucial role in the progression of COVID-19 related lung disorders."

Another author, Iziah Sama of UMC Groningen, said: "When we discovered that one of the most powerful biomarkers, ACE2, was much higher in men than in women, I realized that this had the potential to explain why men were more likely to die from COVID-19 than women. "

Studies from six different countries have shown that men are 50% more likely than women to die from COVID-19, as Business Insider has already reported.

The gender gap in infections is not as pronounced around the world: in South Korea, for example, men are in the minority, while in New York, they are slightly in the majority.

Researchers have found several other theories as to why men seem to be more vulnerable overall to the virus, apart from the ACE2 receptors.

Men tend to be more prone to preexisting conditions that make the virus worse, such as high blood pressure or diabetes

. In many countries, men also smoke more than women, and some studies have shown that men are less likely to wash their hands.

This article was originally published by Business Insider.

More from Business Insider: