Another is that men's immune systems are not as good as women's at warding off the severe effects of viral infections.
These factors are indirectly influenced by sex hormones. Now it seems sex hormones might also have a direct effect on SARS-CoV-2's ability to enter our cells and establish infection.
Baldness and COVID-19
In one study of 122 male COVID-19 patients admitted to hospitals in Madrid, 79% were bald—about double the population frequency.
Another small study in Spain observed a similar overrepresentaton of baldness among men hospitalised with COVID-19.
Male pattern baldness is strongly associated with a higher level of dihydrotestosterone (DHT), a more active derivative of testosterone, and one of the androgen family of male sex hormones.
