Sex as a risk factor for COVID-19 mortality. Ecuador case

• Adriana Pedreañez Santana Cátedra de Inmunología. Departamento de Microbiología. Escuela de Bioanálisis. Facultad de Medicina. Universidad del Zulia. http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3937-0469
• Jesús Alberto Mosquera Sulbarán, Universidad del Zulia. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Investigaciones Clínicas “Dr. Américo Negrette”. Maracaibo. Zulia.
• Nelson Enrique Muñoz Castelo Universidad Nacional del Chimborazo. Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud. Riobamba
• Diego Mauricio Tene Salcan Laboratorio Clínico del Hospital General IESS. Riobamba https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1588-2005
• Jorge Guillermo Robalino Congacha Instituto de Ginecología y Osteoporosis INGINOST. Riobamba https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1588-2005

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5175260

Keywords: COVID-19, men, mortality, women, sexual dimorphism

Abstract

COVID-19 is a disease characterized by a sex bias. Several studies have described men have a greater tendency towards the development of severe disease and higher mortality. The aim of this research was to evaluate whether sex is a risk factor for COVID-19 mortality in Ecuador. For this purpose, data published by the Ministry of Public Health of Ecuador were analyzed taking into account the total number of deaths due to COVID-19 and the number of deaths according to age, sex and geographic distribution, from February 21, 2020 to July 9, 2021. The Chi-square test was applied to evaluate the association between the variables, and the Odds Ratio was calculated. In the time period studied, 64.78% of the deaths corresponded to the male sex while 35.22% corresponded to the female sex. The OR= 1.746; CI: 95% (1.697-1.797); p<0.0001. In conclusion, the results indicate that in Ecuador the male sex is associated with a higher probability of mortality due to COVID-19

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