Male sex identified by global COVID-19 meta-analysis as a risk factor for death and ITU admission

Anecdotal evidence suggests that Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, exhibits differences in morbidity and mortality between sexes. Here, we present a meta-analysis of 3,111,714 reported global cases to demonstrate that, whilst there is no difference in the proportion of males and females with confirmed COVID-19, male patients have almost three times the odds of requiring intensive treatment unit (ITU) admission (OR = 2.84; 95% CI = 2.06, 3.92) and higher odds of death (OR = 1.39; 95% CI = 1.31, 1.47) compared to females. With few exceptions, the sex bias observed in COVID-19 is a worldwide phenomenon. An appreciation of how sex is influencing COVID-19 outcomes will have…

• FC
  Francis Crick Institute
• NI
  National Institute for Health and Care Research
• UC
  University College London
• VA
  Versus Arthritis

  Awards: 21593, 22203, MR/R013926/1
• MR
  Medical Research Council

  Awards: MR/R013926/1, MR/R013926/1, MRF-057-0001-RG-ROSS-C0797, MR/M004600/1