COVID-19 and Testosterone – a Study:

COVID-19 hit the population with a pandemic, and while there was nothing we could do to prevent it back then, there are various factors that we can control now. One such relationship was made with covid and testosterone. It has become clear that male patients suffer from more severe COVID-19 symptoms as compared to female patients. This led to a wrong conclusion that testosterone might be the culprit since men have more testosterone than women.

COVID-19 and testosterone levels are related to some degree, but testosterone isn’t the only factor that affects COVID-19. With many comorbidities, it was difficult to assess the effect of a singular hormone. However, the imbalance of hormones can affect the human body by developing several ailments, including diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular diseases, bone diseases, etc. Since it impacts in so many ways, a culmination of such diseases weakens immunity and are known to be risk factors for COVID-19.

COVID-19 and Testosterone – a Study

In this study, serum samples were analyzed from COVID-19 positive patients admitted between March to May 2020, at the Barnes Jewish Hospital in Missouri.

Testosterone, Estradiol and IGF-1 were measured at different time intervals to investigate if their concentrations in the blood was associated with the severity of COVID-19 and inflammation.

Findings:

In the findings, higher levels of testosterone protected patients from the severity of the disease, and low testosterone indicated severity of coronavirus and inflammation.

This study which was probing if any connection exists between levels of sex hormones in the blood and acute COVID-19, found the opposite evidence. Testosterone protects men from experiencing severe symptoms of the coronavirus. This was true taking into consideration age, race, comorbidities, BMI etc. Across the board it was found that low testosterone was a flag to severe disease, even causing fatalities.

While the study did not prove that low-T in itself was the casual factor, it demonstrated that low-T was a definite indicator to issues that caused severe COVID.

Details of Study:

This study was published in JAMA Open Network (Journal of The American Medical Association) May 2021 edition. (citation & link to full article below).

A total of 152 patients were in the study, of which 9 were outpatients. 143 patients were hospitalized. 90 men and 62 women participated.

Among men, only low testosterone levels were linked to COVID-19 severity, while no correlation was found for women with respect to hormone levels. A blood testosterone level of 250 nanograms per deciliter or less is considered low-T in adult men. At hospital admission, men with severe COVID-19 had average T-levels of 53 nanograms per deciliter; men with less severe disease had average levels of 151 nanograms per deciliter. By day three, the average testosterone level of the most severely ill men was only 19 nanograms per deciliter.

A clear pattern emerged – lower the T levels, increased severity of disease and inflammation.

Mechanisms Behind Low Testosterone and Covid Severity

There are a variety of factors that are known to affect the severity of COVID-19. Biological differences, lifestyles, and even cultural disparity. People with hypertension, cancer, cerebrovascular disease, etc. posed a higher risk of COVID-19. Many of these are affected by sex hormones. So what is the association between COVID-19 and testosterone levels?

COVID-19 and low testosterone are related, and there are several speculations as to why. Low-T has comorbidities such as type-2 diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular diseases, all of which are risk factors for COVID-19. There has been limited but significant research on COVID-19 and testosterone therapy.

Low-T Symptoms

Low Testosterone levels in the body can be indicated with a variety of symptoms. Since the hormone plays an active role in muscle and bone mass growth, a decline in both is seen when the testosterone levles are low. There is increased body fat, disturbed sleep, lower sex drive, and sometimes patients even suffer from depression.

Mostly, such symptoms can be taken care of with few lifestyle changes. If the condition is serious, and paired with severe additional ailments, then testosterone therapy can be done as well.

Should Testosterone Levels Be Measured as Preventive Care?

With new mutations causing more outbreaks and further research continuing on using testosterone as therapy, it might not be a bad idea to get testosterone levels tested if you are positive for the coronavirus. This may help with favorable outcomes and reduce severity and fatality in men from COVID-19.

There is also a possibility that men suffering from comorbidities should test T-levels as a preventive precaution.

COVID-19 and Testosterone Therapy

Even as a factor among many, low testosterone can cause many other comorbidities as well. By treating it, you treat such ailments as well. It has been theorized that by reducing symptoms of comorbidities, the severity of COVID-19 reduces as well.

Research showed patients on TTh had lower rates of ICU admission and utilization of mechanical ventilators. There are some limitations on the research since a lot of pre-COVID-19 data was not collected.

Post-testing the hormone levels, proper steps must be taken to ensure normal levels. There are several ways to tackle Low-T, including consistent exercise and sleep cycle, avoiding harmful addictions, balanced diet, etc. One of them is Testosterone Therapy. TTh has been proven to aid men with their hormonal balance. Take the advice of a doctor to have a tailored solution.

The correlation between COVID-19 and low testosterone levels gives another reason why it is important to keep your hormones in check.

	Take our online test and check if you are eligible for our hormone therapy This allows our medical team to analyse your blood test and confirm if you’ve qualified for treatment

Citation:

Dhindsa S, Zhang N, McPhaul MJ, et al. Association of Circulating Sex Hormones With Inflammation and Disease Severity in Patients With COVID-19. JAMA Netw Open. 2021;4(5):e2111398. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.11398

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2780135