Men tend to be more dismissive of physical symptoms than women. It’s part of the Macho Mystique, that men need to act strong and tough. Maybe indulge in riskier behaviors like smoking.
Upward of 70 percent of deaths in Italy have been men. The question is: Why?
By Chris Mooney, Sarah Kaplan and Min Joo Kim
With over 200,000 coronavirus cases worldwide and thousands of deaths, a striking pattern is appearing in the hardest-hit countries: more men are dying than women.
Nowhere is this trend more pronounced than in Italy. Men make up nearly 60 percent of people with confirmed cases of the virus and more than 70 percent of those who have died of covid-19, according to the country’s main public health research agency.
The alarming Italy data have caught the attention of the White House. Ambassador Deborah Birx, the White House’s coronavirus response coordinator, warned Friday that “from Italy we’re seeing another concerning trend, that the mortality in males seem to be twice in every age group of females. This should alert all of us to continue our vigilance to protect Americans who are in nursing homes.”
On the other end of the spectrum is South Korea, where about 61 percent of confirmed infections have been in women. Though far fewer patients have died, the majority of fatalities — 54 percent —- were again men.
So if you are a man you face a greater risk. And if you are a man over the age of 60 you face the greatest risk of any group. Men need to take social distancing, and frequent hand washing very seriously, because your life may well depend on it.
In China 64% of COVID-19 deaths were males. When it comes to COVID-19 males seem to be the more vulnerable gender.