Bald Men At Higher Risk Of Developing Severe COVID-19 Symptoms, Claims New Study

A recent study has claimed that the novel coronavirus tends to affect bald men more severely than it does women. Though nobody can yet explain the oddity, researchers are still trying to dig up evidence.

As ridiculous as it may sound, the study claims to have put forward some hardcore scientific facts.

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Bald men could be at a higher risk of dying from coronavirus because male hormones help the virus attack cells, scientists have revealed.

The hormone androgen, which causes hair loss in men, has been linked to some of the worst cases of COVID-19 in Spanish hospitals.

Carlos Wambier, a researcher at Brown University, told the Daily Telegraph he thinks ¡°baldness is a perfect predictor of severity¡± of coronavirus.

However, other medical professionals have urged caution and said much more evidence is needed to support this claim.

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According to the Telegraph, Prof Wambier conducted two studies in Spain, from which he concluded that a disproportionate number of bald men were taken to hospital with the virus.

Of the 41 patients he examined in his first study, 71 per cent of them had male pattern baldness, a higher percentage than the background rate for baldness in men of a similar age.

A study published in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology found that 71% of COVID-19 patients were found to have had male pattern baldness, but no conclusive opinion can be drawn out of these findings, said the report.

According to research done in New York and Mumbai, the testicles house ACE2 receptors in big quantities which allow the COVID-19 virus to survive for a longer time in the system.

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The research further claimed that there were far fewer ACE2 receptors in the ovaries of women. It also stated how smoking can also boost the risk of coronavirus infection in men. A male is the only one with the X chromosome per cell, instead of two like women, which consists of a significant amount of immune genes.

This also includes the one for a protein called TLR7 which helps doctors spot single-stranded RNA virus - for example, the coronavirus.

Since women have a higher count of this gene, because of 2 X chromosomes per cell, the response of their immune cells to the COVID-19 infection is reportedly better than men.