Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33152916›Full record

ReviewBiomedicine & pharmacotherapy = Biomedecine & pharmacotherapie2020

Male predisposition to severe COVID-19: Review of evidence and potential therapeutic prospects.

Desmond Omane Acheampong, Isaac Kyei Barffour, Alex Boye, Enoch Aninagyei, Stephen Ocansey, Martin Tangnaa Morna

Open access · goldAbstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Biomedicine & pharmacotherapy = Biomedecine & pharmacotherapie, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
23citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.0field-weighted citation impact, top 13% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

23 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 49 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Desmond Omane AcheampongDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, School of Allied Health Sciences, College of Health and Allied Sciences, University of Cape Coast, Ghana. Electronic address: dacheampong@ucc.edu.gh.
Isaac Kyei BarffourDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, School of Allied Health Sciences, College of Health and Allied Sciences, University of Cape Coast, Ghana.
Alex BoyeDepartment of Medical Laboratory Science, School of Allied Health Sciences, College of Health and Allied Sciences, University of Cape Coast, Ghana.
Enoch AninagyeiDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, School of Basic and Biomedical Sciences, University of Allied Health Sciences, Ho, Ghana.
Stephen OcanseyDepartment of Optometry and Vision Science, School of Allied Health Sciences, College of Health and Allied Sciences, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana.
Martin Tangnaa MornaDepartment of Surgery, School of Medical Sciences, College of Health and Allied Sciences, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana.
University of Cape Coast · GHUniversity of Health and Allied Sciences · GH

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The severe form of COVID-19 has significant sex disparities, with high fatalities commonly reported among males than females. The incidence of COVID-19 has also been higher in males compared with their female counterparts. This trend could be attributed to a better responsive and robust immune system in females. Cytokine storm is one of the pathophysiological features of severe COVID-19, and it occurs as a result of over-activation of immune cells leading to severe inflammation and tissue damage. Nevertheless, it is well modulated in females compared to their male counterparts. Severe inflammation in males is reported to facilitate progression of mild to severe COVID-19. The sex hormones, estrogens and androgens which exist in varying functional levels respectively in females and males are cited as the underlying cause for the differential immune response to COVID-19. Evidence abounds that estrogen modulate the immune system to protect females from severe inflammation and for that matter severe COVID-19. On the contrary, androgen has been implicated in over-activation of immune cells, cytokine storm and the attendant severe inflammation, which perhaps predispose males to severe COVID-19. In this review efforts are made to expand understanding and explain the possible roles of the immune system, the sex hormones and the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) systems in male bias to severe COVID-19. Also, this review explores possible therapeutic avenues including androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), estrogen-based therapy, and ACE inhibitors for consideration in the fight against COVID-19.

Indexed as

PandemicsAdolescentAdultAgedAged, 80 and overAndrogen AntagonistsAngiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme InhibitorsAnimalsBetacoronavirusChildChild, PreschoolCoronavirus InfectionsCOVID-19COVID-19 Drug TreatmentDisease SusceptibilityACE2 protein, humanAce2 protein, mouseACE protein, humanAndrogen AntagonistsAngiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme InhibitorsGonadal Steroid HormonesPeptidyl-Dipeptidase AProtein Disulfide-IsomerasesReceptors, Cell SurfaceReceptors, VirusAndrogenAngiotensin-Converting enzyme-2 (ACE2)COVID-19Cytokine stormEstrogenInflammationSARS-CoV-2

Identifiers

PMID33152916
PMCPMC7480230
OpenAlexW3084154381

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.