The Coronavirus Disease 2019 Outbreak Highlights the Importance of Sex-sensitive Medicine

Angela Hem Maas; Sabine Oertelt-Prigione

doi:10.15420/ecr.2020.28

The Coronavirus Disease 2019 Outbreak Highlights the Importance of Sex-sensitive Medicine

Eur Cardiol. 2020 Aug 24:15:e62. doi: 10.15420/ecr.2020.28. eCollection 2020 Feb.

Authors

Angela Hem Maas¹, Sabine Oertelt-Prigione²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Cardiology, Radboud University Medical Center Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
² Department of Primary and Community Care, Radboud University Medical Center Nijmegen, the Netherlands.

Abstract

The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has revealed important differences between the sexes in epidemiology, risk factors, clinical course, mortality and socioeconomic dimensions of the disease in all populations worldwide. This has emphasised the need for a better understanding of diversity aspects in healthcare to improve prevention, treatment and long-term consequences. In this article, the authors describe the most relevant knowledge thus far on sex differences regarding COVID-19.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; coronavirus; gender differences; inflammation; sex differences.

Publication types

Review