If You Suffer From Low-T, You’re More at Risk for Severe COVID-19 Symptoms

Written by Dr. Jonathan Peterson, Updated on April 23rd, 2024

Reading Time: 4 minutes
()

Yes, COVID is still an issue in May of 2021 – especially if you are a male with low testosterone.

The coronavirus pandemic has affected the lives of nearly everyone on the planet (except, perhaps, the off-grid folks or hermits of the woods), and recent studies are telling us that men with low testosterone levels are more at risk for developing severe COVID-19 symptoms and/or complications.

Unfortunately, this news shows a trend of decreasing testosterone levels in men – and not just in older men, but men in their 20s and 30s, too (That is a topic for another article, however).

Low-T Linked to Increased Risk of Severe COVID-19 in Men

A recent study published in the journal JAMA Network Open found that low testosterone levels in men are linked to severe COVID risk in men, but it was not proven that low testosterone is the cause of severe COVID-19. The researchers concluded that low testosterone levels could help us in the way of a biomarker of other causal factors.

Typically, when testosterone levels are low in men, estrogen levels are higher. This leads to adverse effects in men, including weight gain, muscle loss, and depression, just to name a few.

Estrogen is the “female hormone” that is mainly responsible for developing and regulating the female reproductive system, such as menstruation and pregnancy.

The researchers from the Washington University School of Medicine advise that caution should be taken in the ongoing clinical trials looking at hormone therapies for treating men with COVID-19, including the blockage or lowering of testosterone and/or increasing estrogen.

Higher Levels of Testosterone a Good Thing When Battling COVID

Professor of Medicine and study author Abhinav Diwan stated, “During the pandemic, there has been a prevailing notion that testosterone is bad. But we found the opposite in men...If a man had low testosterone when he first came to the hospital, his risk of severe COVID-19 was much higher than men with more circulating testosterone.”

If a man’s testosterone drops even lower while in the hospital fighting the coronavirus, the risk of severe symptoms increases. During the course of the study, the researchers recorded data on several hormones taken from 90 men and 62 women demonstrating symptoms of COVID-19 with a confirmation of diagnosis.

Blood samples for the hormones were taken upon initial intake at the hospital and on days 3, 7, 14, and 28 if the patient stayed that long in the hospital. Besides testosterone, the researchers also measured estradiol and IGF-1.

Estradiol is a form of estrogen naturally produced by the body, and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) is a hormone similar to insulin. It helps us to maintain muscle mass.

Low Testosterone Has No Effect on Women With COVID-19

The women in the study had no correlation between levels of any of the hormones tested and the severity of the coronavirus. With the men, only testosterone was linked to infection severity.

In the medical world, 250 nanograms(ng) per deciliter (dL) of testosterone is considered “low” testosterone in adult men. When men were admitted to the hospital with severe symptoms, the average testosterone levels were around 53 ng/dL. The men with less severe symptoms had average of 151 ng/dL levels.

The Lower the Testosterone Levels, the Worse the Disease

At day three, the average testosterone level of the severely ill men was just 19 ng/dL. The lower the testosterone, the worse the disease. What this means in terms of medical care was that the “low testosterone” men were at the highest risk of needing a ventilator, intensive care, or death. In fact, thirty-seven patients (out of which 25 were men) died from the illness over the course of the study, unfortunately.

In addition, other factors that are known to increase the risk of severe COVID-19 symptoms, such as increased age, diabetes, and obesity, are also linked to low testosterone.

Study author Sandeep Dhindsa, endocrinologist, stated, “The groups of men who were getting sicker were known to have lower testosterone across the board.”

Dhindsa also said, “We also found that those men with COVID-19 who were not severely ill initially, but had low testosterone levels, were likely to need intensive care or intubation over the next two or three days.”

He believes that low testosterone levels demonstrate a predictive aspect in which patients will likely become severely ill in the next couple of days after hospital admission.

Reference

The Tribune

Contact Us For HGH And Sermorelin Injection Treatment

Name (*)
Email (*)
Phone (*)
Select A Program (*)
Select US State (*)
Select Age (30+ only)

does consultants pituitary growth hormone work 592010672

Related Posts
preparation for blood test with pretty young blond woman by female doctor
hgh chart best growth hormones.webp
factor hgh chart reviews.webp

List of USA state clinics - click a flag below for blood testing clinics.

alabama clinics
Alabama Hormone Blood Analysis
alaska clinics
Alaska Hormone Blood Analysis
arizona clinics
Arizona Hormone Blood Analysis
arkansas clinics
Arkansas Hormone Blood Analysis
california clinics
California Hormone Blood Analysis
colorado clinics
Colorado Hormone Blood Analysis
connecticut clinics
Connecticut Hormone Blood Analysis
delaware clinics
Delaware Hormone Blood Analysis
florida clinics
Florida Hormone Blood Analysis
georgia clinics
Georgia Hormone Blood Analysis
hawaii clinics
Hawaii Hormone Blood Analysis
idaho clinics
Idaho Hormone Blood Analysis
illinois clinics
Illinois Hormone Blood Analysis
indiana clinics
Indiana Hormone Blood Analysis
iowa clinics
Iowa Hormone Blood Analysis
kansas clinics
Kansas Hormone Blood Analysis
kentucky clinics
Kentucky Hormone Blood Analysis
louisiana clinics
Louisiana Hormone Blood Analysis
maine clinics
Maine Hormone Blood Analysis
maryland clinics
Maryland Hormone Blood Analysis
massachusetts clinics
Massachusetts Hormone Blood Analysis
michigan clinics
Michigan Hormone Blood Analysis
minnesota clinics
Minnesota Hormone Blood Analysis
mississippi clinics
Mississippi Hormone Blood Analysis
missouri clinics
Missouri Hormone Blood Analysis
montana clinics
Montana Hormone Blood Analysis
nebraska clinics
Nebraska Hormone Blood Analysis
nevada clinics
Nevada Hormone Blood Analysis
new hampshire clinics
New Hampshire Hormone Blood Analysis
new jersey clinics
New Jersey Hormone Blood Analysis
new mexico clinics
New Mexico Hormone Blood Analysis
new york clinics
New York Hormone Blood Analysis
north carolina clinics
North Carolina Hormone Blood Analysis
ohio clinics
Ohio Hormone Blood Analysis
oklahoma clinics
Oklahoma Hormone Blood Analysis
oregon clinics
Oregon Hormone Blood Analysis
pennsylvania clinics
Pennsylvania Hormone Blood Analysis
rhode island clinics
Rhode Island Hormone Blood Analysis
south carolina clinics
South Carolina Hormone Blood Analysis
south dakota clinics
South Dakota Hormone Blood Analysis
tennessee clinics
Tennessee Hormone Blood Analysis
texas clinics
Texas Hormone Blood Analysis
utah clinics
Utah Hormone Blood Analysis
vermont clinics
Vermont Hormone Blood Analysis
virginia clinics
Virginia Hormone Blood Analysis
washington clinics
Washington Hormone Blood Analysis
washington d.c clinics
Washington, D.C. Hormone Blood Analysis
west virginia clinics
West Virginia Hormone Blood Analysis
wisconsin clinics
Wisconsin Hormone Blood Analysis
wyoming clinics
Wyoming Hormone Blood Analysis

How useful was this post?

Click on a thumb to rate it!

Average rating / 5. Vote count:

No votes so far! Be the first to rate this post.

Word Count: 742