Sex Differences

The Women’s Global Health Institute (WGHI) at Purdue is interested in learning about, promoting and supporting any COVID-19 research at Purdue that includes research on women’s health and assessment sex differences. There are clear indications from the current statistics that sex plays a role in responses to COVID-19.  For example, more women are testing positive, but more men are dying of the disease (see resources below). 

Understanding factors that contribute to sex differences - ranging from social aspects to different immune responses - is important not only for the development of treatments, but also for estimating the risks that will result in potentially sex-specific recommendations. Our goal is to urge COVID-19 studies at Purdue to consider the question of sex differences, to collect sex-specific results as a resource, and to promote Purdue as a leader in understanding sex-differences in COVID-19.

If you are engaged in COVID-19 research or thinking to do so in the near future, please click here to tell us (~2-3 line description) about your COVID-19 project or your plans/ideas. We will follow up your submission to determine if you would like to highlight your project on the WGHI webpage for others to possibly connect, and where the WGHI could be of help in supporting your research.

Resources: 

Please help us grow the resources below with your contributions. We welcome your scientific comments and resource sharing, which you can sent to us here

Current COVID-19 Data by Sex in Indiana

Covid19-sex-IN-by-April-18.jpg

Current COVID-19 Data by Sex in US and Other Countires: 

Covid19-sex-confirmed-USA-by-April-18.jpg  Covid19-sex-mortality-USA-by-April-18.jpg

Covid19-sex-confirmed-World-by-April-18.jpg  Covid19-sex-mortality-World-by-April-18.jpg

Current COVID-19 Data by Sex and Age in US and Other Countries: 

 Covid19-sex-age-DC-April-18.jpg Covid19-sex-age-UT-April-18.jpg

Covid19-sex-age-mortality-GA-by-April-18.jpg Covid19-sex-age-mortality-OH-by-April-18.jpg

Covid19-sex-age-confirmed-Italy-by-April-18.jpg Covid19-sex-age-mortality-Italy-by-April-18.jpg

Covid19-sex-age-mortality-Germany-by-April-18.jpg Covid19-sex-age-mortality-Netherland-by-April-18.jpg

Covid19-sex-age-mortality-Portugal-by-April-18.jpg

(Updated April 20, 2020)

Data source: 

Scientific Papers:

Walter LA & McGregor AJ: Sex- and Gender-specific Observations and Implications for COVID-19West J Emerg Med. 2020 Apr 10 
Cai H: Sex difference and smoking predisposition in patients with COVID-19.  Lancet Respir Med. 2020 Apr; 8(4): e20.
Conti P & Younes A: Coronavirus COV-19/SARS-CoV-2 affects women less than men: clinical response to viral infection.   J Biol Regul Homeost Agents. 2020 Apr 7;34(2).
Bhopal R: Covid-19 worldwide: we need precise data by age group and sex urgently  BMJ. 2020 Apr 3;369:m1366
Wenham C. et al.: COVID-19: the gendered impacts of the outbreak.  Lancet 2020 Mar 14;395(10227):846-848

News Articles: 

April 16: Why coronavirus can make some severely ill and others hardly at all -- abcNews
April 12: Data on coronavirus deaths by country show more men are dying than women. Male habits and health problems may be partly to blame.  -- Business Insider
April 10: The New Coronavirus Appears To Take A Greater Toll On Men Than On Women  -- NPR
April 9: Coronavirus mystery: Disease infects more women but kills more men  ---The Hill
April 4: All across the United States, the coronavirus is killing more men than women, data show  -- The Washtington Post
April 3: Does Covid-19 Hit Women and Men Differently? U.S. Isn’t Keeping Track -- The New York Times
April 2: Why Are So Many More Men Dying from Coronavirus?  -- The New York Times
March 26: Men are much more likely to die from coronavirus - but why? -- The Guardian
March 24: Here's why the coronavirus may be killing more men than women. The US should take note -- CNN
Feb 24: Why the Coronavirus Seems to Hit Men Harder Than Women -- The New York Times