The COVID-19 pandemic, which has significantly increased mortality in Albania, is proving to be more fatal among men, a trend observed across the globe.
Eurostat has published death data for Albania, on a weekly basis, which are available for the 9-month period (from December 30, 2019 to the last week of September 2020, date 27, a total of 39 weeks), by sex. Referring to these figures, compiled by "Monitor", for this period of 2020, deaths in the country increased by 7%, reaching 17.700.
In total, there are 1,171 more lives lost, for January-September compared to the same period a year ago, which was mainly due to the consequences of the pandemic. Of these additional deaths, about 760 people are men, or about 65% of the total excess of victims.
In normal years, according to Eurostat data for 2019, in the country, men accounted for about 50-54% of total deaths, while in the third quarter of 2020, there are weeks when this share has increased to 62% of the total, for due to the higher increase in fatalities among men compared to women.
Global data also show that there is a higher mortality from COVID-19 in men, with the fatality ratio ranging between 1·0, to 3·5 in some cases. The scientific journal The Lancet wrote that global data has shown that both biological factors (stronger immune responses) and behavioral risk factors (eg smoking and other lifestyle habits) put men at risk higher for health complications and death as a result of COVID-19
According to The Lancet, men are twice as likely to die from COVID-19, influenced by a range of hypotheses, lifestyles and the fact that women usually have a stronger immune system, thanks to female hormones as well as chromosome structure.
Studies have shown that not only is the immune system weaker in men, but in some severe cases of the coronavirus, it can break down. A study of nearly 1.000 life-threatening COVID-19 patients, published in Science in September, found evidence of molecular self-sabotage. The immune system was acting against the body's defenses, like rebellious castle guards breaking down their gates. This problem was much more prevalent among men than women.
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