Factors associated with Covid-19 deaths in records of 17M adult NHS patients

Re:Factors associated with Covid-19 deaths in records of 17M... by elliekelly on Saturday May 16, 2020 @12:44AM (#23200552)

There was a post on HN a few days ago about a study that found low testosterone levels were correlated with worse Covid-19 outcomes. I think vitamin D is technically a hormone (or maybe is hormone-like?) so I wonder if it’s absorbed differently by men than women. Or maybe low testosterone is just a side effect of a vitamin D deficiency in men.

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Re:Factors associated with Covid-19 deaths in records of 17M... by sterlind on Saturday May 16, 2020 @03:42AM (#23201277)

It could also be low levels of sex hormones in general - having neither estrogen nor testosterone in your body causes osteoporosis, for example. Excess testosterone is metabolized into estrogen, as well.

But the endocrine system is ferociously complex - maybe endocrine abnormalities are a proxy for obesity, or an underlying thyroid issue etc.

According to [0], vitamin D deficiency is associated with higher free testosterone in men and lower estradiol in women. Higher testosterone is associated with cardiovascular problems, which are a big COVID risk factor.

But that doesn't jib well with the study you find, so I dunno what to make of it.

0. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5218632/#__ffn_...

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Re:Factors associated with Covid-19 deaths in records of 17M... by iddiid on Saturday May 16, 2020 @10:30AM (#23203653)

I think that low testosterone levels is correlated with being older which is correlated with worse Covid-19 outcomes, so age is the important factor here.

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Re:Factors associated with Covid-19 deaths in records of 17M... by rjsw on Saturday May 16, 2020 @04:33AM (#23201557)

One study suggested that progesterone was a factor in reducing viral levels.

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