ArticleEuropean endocrinology2020
Testosterone in COVID-19 - Foe, Friend or Fatal Victim?
Article in European endocrinology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 12 citations in OpenAlex.
- Repercussion of SARS-CoV-2 on the Sexual Function in Males: An Updated Review.Infectious disorders drug targets · 2025Review
- Corona and Reproduction, or Why the Corona Vaccination Does Not Result in Infertility.Geburtshilfe und Frauenheilkunde · 2022Article
- Potential of Endogenous Oxytocin in Endocrine Treatment and Prevention of COVID-19.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2022Review
- Sex-related susceptibility in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): Proposed mechanisms.European journal of pharmacology · 2021Article
- Androgenetic alopecia and COVID-19: A review of the hypothetical role of androgens.Dermatologic therapy · 2021Review
- Pharmacotherapeutic approach toward urological medications and vaccination during COVID-19: a narrative review.Therapeutic advances in urologyReview
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The evidence derived from observational studies suggests male gender, diabetes and central obesity to be risk factors associated with an increased COVID-19-related case fatality. The precise pathophysiology behind this gender difference in mortality outcomes remains unclear at this stage, although it is worth exploring a possible role of testosterone as one of the contributory factors. The observed role of androgens in transcription of transmembrane protease serine-2, which facilitates COVID-19 anchoring to angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 cell surface receptors, seems to suggest that higher testosterone levels might be detrimental for outcomes. On the other hand, men with type 2 diabetes mellitus and central obesity have an increased prevalence of hypogonadotropic hypogonadism, with inhibition of gonadotropin-releasing hormone secretion induced by inflammatory cytokines being one of the postulated mechanisms. The increased COVID-19 case fatality in this cohort might perhaps reflect an underlying pro-inflammatory state, with low testosterone levels being either a surrogate marker of a poor metabolic state or playing a more active role in propagation of inflammation and thrombosis.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.