While vaccine administration is well underway in several countries, many of us are still vulnerable to the COVID-19 pandemic and need all the aid we can receive.
An interesting study, published in Family Practice, published by Oxford University Press, has found that getting hormone replacement therapy within six months of a COVID-19 diagnosis was linked to a lower risk of dying from the disease.
SARS-CoV-2, a novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus, is still spreading. The illness affects both men and women equally. Men, on the other hand, suffer more severe infections and have greater hospitalization and mortality rates. Men’s mortality was 1.7 times greater than women’s in COVID-19, according to a recent study that used data from 38 countries. Younger women and women with greater estrogen levels are less prone to develop issues from COVID-19.
In addition, previous research has demonstrated that women’s immune responses to viral infections are quicker and more robust. Similar findings have been made in earlier pandemics, such as the SARS-CoV (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Corona Virus) and MERS-CoV (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Corona Virus) outbreaks.
The cause of these gender variances is unknown. Recent observational data suggest that estrogen may help to lower COVID-19 illness severity. This study looked into the link between hormone replacement therapy or combined oral contraception use and the risk of death in COVID-19-positive women. Since some recent observational data suggests that women taking oral contraceptives had a lower risk of acquiring COVID-19, researchers studied combination oral contraception, which contains estrogen, as an option.
The researchers employed a retrospective cohort using medical information from the Oxford-Royal College of General Practitioners Research and Surveillance Centre primary care database. They found 1,863,478 women over the age of 18 in 465 general practices across England. Within the cohort, there were 5451 COVID-19 instances. In COVID-19, hormone replacement treatment was linked to a 22% reduction in all-cause death.
This shows that estrogen may have a preventive impact against the severity of COVID-19. This could explain why, during the pandemic, fewer women were hospitalized, admitted to intensive care, or died as a result of COVID-19.
The findings of this study, according to the authors, “support the theory that estrogen may offer some protection against severe COVID-19.”
They “hope that this study can provide reassurance to patients and clinicians that there is no indication to stop hormone replacement therapy because of the pandemic.”
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