Male predominance was even more pronounced in the age groups >65 years and >75 years. Mean CCI and most comorbidities did not differ significantly between men and women, while coronary artery disease (18% vs 10%) and smoking rates were higher in male patients (14.5 vs 10.5%) than female patients.
Progression to a critical phase (generally reflecting ICU admission) was seen more often in men than in women (30.6% vs 17.2%). Mean hospital length of stay was longer in male patients (15.4 vs 13.3 days).
Both crude mortality (19.2% vs 12.9%) and COVID-19 attributable mortality (17.1% vs 10.3%,), were significantly higher in men. Being male proved to be an independent risk factor for a 62% increased risk of COVID-19 associated death in an analysis adjusted for various factors.
While most laboratory parameters were comparable between male and female patients with COVID-19, men had significantly higher inflammatory markers (IL-6, CRP, PCT, ferritin) across all phases of disease
