According to a new study, published in the journal JAMA Network Open, men who get infected with COVID-19 and have low testosterone levels are at a greater risk of getting hospitalised with the viral disease as compared to those who have normal levels of the hormone. They were 2.4 times more likely to require hospitalisation because of Covid. The study noted that treating men who have low testosterone levels, may help in preventing severe symptoms of COVID-19 and reduce the burden on hospitals during waves.
To conduct the study, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Saint Louis University School of Medicine, US, examined the cases of 723 men who tested Covid positive, in the year 2020 before the availability of vaccines. The analysed data proved that low testosterone is an independent risk factor hospitalisation due to COVID-19, just like other chronic conditions, including diabetes, heart disease and chronic lung disease.
Also read: 7 Tried and Tested Ways To Naturally Increase The Level Of Testosterone Hormone
The researchers also noted that men who had low testosterone levels but received successfully treatment with hormone replacement therapy were no more at a risk to be hospitalised due to Covid as compared to those whose hormone levels were always within the normal range. Study co-senior author Abhinav Diwan, a professor of medicine at Washington University, said, "It is very likely that COVID-19 is here to stay." He further added, "Hospitalisations with COVID-19 are still a problem and will continue to be a problem because the virus keeps evolving new variants that escape immunisation-based immunity."
It was found out that low testosterone is extremely common, found in around one third of men over the age of 30. Diwan said, "Our study draws attention to this important risk factor and the need to address it as a strategy to lower hospitalisations." Diwan and co-senior author Sandeep Dhindsa, an endocrinologist at Saint Louis University, had earlier proved that men hospitalised due to COVID-19 have very low testosterone levels. But, severe disease or injury can also make hormone levels to reduce temporarily.
