The Dhaka Times Desk The number of deaths due to corona virus is increasing by leaps and bounds all over the world. After the origin of this virus in China, more than 4 thousand people lost their lives, but the number worldwide is 1 lakh 61 thousand 951.
But one trend in these statistics has experts wondering; And that is proportionally more men died than women. Statistics available from each affected country show that everywhere males die more than females.
A website called Worldometer has been providing hourly statistics of Covid-19 cases around the world. According to them, it appears that only in New York City, until April 14, about 6,600 people died, 62 percent of them were men. Even among those who had no symptoms of hypertension, diabetes or heart disease, 72 out of every 100 deaths were men.
Almost twice as many men die as women die in China. 70% of all deaths in Italy are men. Even in countries like South Korea where women are more infected (61 percent), the death rate is higher for men, about 54 percent.
Why are men dying more?
Experts are conflicted about the cause of this trend. Sabra Klein, a professor at the School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University in the United States, said, "To be honest, we cannot say exactly why Covid-19 is affecting men more than women. All I can say is that the risk increases with age as well as being male.
Not only the corona virus, but other epidemics that have occurred recently (Sars, Mars), still men have died more among the victims.
However, some explanations have been given by researchers and doctors as to why the corona virus is causing gender discrimination. However, they are still conceptual, not empirical evidence.
Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at Columbia University in the United States, said that census statistics around the world also show that men's health risks are relatively high. In many of the countries hit hardest by the coronavirus (Italy, China, South Korea), women's life expectancy is consistently higher than men's.
According to most experts in this matter, the male lifestyle (way of living) may be behind it.
One of them is that men are less disciplined than women. They smoke more, drink more alcohol. And because of this, men suffer more from heart disease, cancer or diabetes or lung inflammation. Due to which the risk of dying from corona virus is very high. Because those who have any other serious disease in the body; They are the ones who are dying more from covid-19.
A World Health Organization statistic shows that 48 percent of males over the age of 15 in China smoke; Where the number of female smokers is only 2 percent.
Sex hormones protecting women?
In addition, many researchers said that some physiological differences between men and women may also be behind this. Hormonal differences may also play a role. One study after another has shown that women's body cells have a much higher resistance to disease.
A study published in the medical journal Human Genomics states that having a large number of such genes in the X chromosome in body cells increases immunity. Females have twice the number of X chromosomes than males, which makes them more resistant to infection than males.
Physician experience
Dr. Sunil Roy has been engaged in medical services in Britain for the past 45 years. In his years of experience, he said, he has seen the trend of heart disease among girls up to a certain age. In the last 50 years of treatment, I do not recall ever seeing a woman between the ages of 50 and 55 with a stroke. But even younger than this, many men have strokes.
He believes that women are naturally less likely to develop heart disease due to sex hormones until menopause. Also, if we talk about lifestyle, it can be seen that girls smoke less and drink less. Due to which the risk of suffering from heart disease and high blood pressure is naturally very low.
Dr. the same observation. Harun Rashid too. who has been working as a medicine specialist in the National Health Service (NHS) of England for the last 32 years. He said men were more likely to present with heart disease or lung inflammation, particularly men of South Asian and African descent. I don't see any difference between men and women when it comes to diabetes, but men definitely suffer more when it comes to heart disease or high blood pressure.
Dr. Harun Rashid thinks why blacks and other minorities are dying more from the corona virus in Britain and America; That issue also needs to be considered separately along with the risk of gender discrimination.
The world-renowned medical journal Lancet wrote in an editorial that it is not yet clear whether gender increases or decreases the risk of contracting the coronavirus, but it is now fairly clear that men are dying more from Covid-19.
Thus, the Lancet says, gender differences in response to the disease must be taken into account in treatment and vaccine research. If this is ignored, the results may not be good.
Things to do to prevent Corona virus
# stay at home all the time.
# Follow the rules and use mask when going out for emergency.
# three-layer surgical mask can be washed if desired.
# wash clothes after coming home from outside. Or hang it without shaking for at least four hours.
# Wash hands thoroughly (for at least 20 seconds) with soap or liquid before coming outside.
# plastic PPE or eyes, face, head must be washed thoroughly with detergent and dried after one use.
# Wear PPE made of cloth or clean as described.
# Use a head cap that completely covers the hair.
# Those who have sneeze cough should follow all the rules promulgated by the government. Also, wash hands as directed before and after handling food items, keys, switches, mice, remote controls, mobiles, watches, computer desks, TVs, etc. and after using the bathroom. Those who have dry hands use Moisture after washing their hands. Soap or hand liquid can be used. Why can this virus remain in the crackle (cracked part) of dry hands? Avoid using highly alkaline soaps or detergents.
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