Study links low testosterone to severe Covid risk in men

The study could not prove that low testosterone is a cause of severe Covid-19; low levels could simply serve as a marker of some other causal factors.

The researchers measured hormones in blood samples from 90 men and 62 women who came to Barnes-Jewish Hospital with Covid-19 infection. Of them, 143 were admitted.

Among women, no correlation was found between levels of any hormone and disease severity. Among men, only testosterone levels were linked to Covid-19 severity.

The lower the levels, the more severe the disease. For example, those with the lowest levels were at highest risk of going on a ventilator, needing intensive care or dying; 37 patients (including 25 men) died over the course of the study.

Source: Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis