The study published in JAMA Network Open showed that treating low testosterone in males may help shield them from serious illness and lessen the strain on hospitals during COVID-19 waves. In the study, researchers from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Saint Louis University School of Medicine found that males with COVID-19 who had low testosterone levels were more likely to experience acute illness and require hospitalization than those with normal levels.

They discovered that COVID-19-positive men with low testosterone were 2.4 times more likely to need hospitalization than COVID-19-positive men with hormone levels within the normal range. Additionally, men whose testosterone levels had historically tested within the normal range but who had undergone successful hormone replacement therapy were not any more likely to be hospitalized for COVID-19 than were men whose testosterone levels had consistently tested within the normal range. In the study, the researchers included 723 men with confirmed reports of COVID-19 cases in 2020 or 2021 and testosterone levels measured between January 1, 2017, and December 31, 2021, and found that 427 men with normal testosterone levels, 116 with low levels, and 180 who had previously had low levels but were successfully treated. These men had received hormone replacement therapy, and their testosterone levels were within the normal range at the time they developed COVID-19.

Dr. Sandeep Dhindsa, MD, an endocrinologist at Saint Louis University, stated that sexual dysfunction, low mood, irritability, memory loss, exhaustion, loss of muscle mass, and a generalized decreased sense of well-being are all symptoms of low testosterone in men. On the other hand, prostate cancer and heart disease risk are the two main issues with testosterone therapy. Older men frequently develop prostate cancer, which is frequently fueled by testosterone. Increasing testosterone may accelerate the development of certain malignancies, aggravating the condition. Dr. Abhinav Diwan, MD, of Barnes-Jewish Hospital as well as a professor of obstetrics and gynecology and cell biology and physiology, added that if the patient has a particularly high risk of cardiovascular events, the doctor could talk to the patient about the advantages and disadvantages of hormone replacement treatment, of which one of the most potential benefits is a reduced risk of COVID hospitalization.

(Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/lifestyle/health/low-testosterone-may-make-men-more-susceptible-to-covid-19-hospitalisation-101662186206430.html )