SARS-CoV-2, TESTOSTERONE AND MALE FRAGILITY

Preliminary data suggests that male individuals are more susceptible to COVID-19 infection, at least in Western countries, and that their mortality rate is higher than female individuals. This would seem to suggest that the hormonal environment (steroid, primarily) could have a very relevant pathophysiological role in association with SARS-CoV-2. That is, testosterone could play a relevant role in leaving male subjects more exposed to infection and more prone to developing severe complications following COVID-19 infection. Another option is that COVID-19 infection could cause a condition of acute hypogonadism, following which, the exhaustion of androgenic action could act as a co-trigger of a severe or even fatal course of the disease.