Women Generate Stronger Immune Response Against COVID-19, Study Finds

Women are more likely to exhibit a stronger immune response against the novel coronavirus, a new study conducted by a team of researchers at Yale University in the U.S. has confirmed.

It is being discussed for many months that COVID-19 somehow affects men greater than women and even the death rate reported among the male population is higher as compared to females. However, research teams have not been able to arrive at a conclusion or prove the credibility of the data and if there is any scientific reason behind the variation.

The recent study published by Yale University researchers offers some explanation for the fact that COVID-19 seems to be a more serious illness in the male population, in comparison to female.

"What we found was that men and women indeed develop different types of immune responses to COVID-19," said lead author Akiko Iwasaki. "These differences may underlie heightened disease susceptibility in men."

During the study, the team collected the nasal, saliva, and blood samples from patients who were treated at Yale New Haven Hospital and also from non-infected control subjects.

The study found that women participants showed a more robust immune system involving the T-cells as compared to men. Even older women showed the same level of the immune response against the novel coronavirus.

Whereas in men, the older the age, the weaker was the T-cell response. Men were found to produce more cytokines instead, which are inflammatory. A strong response is known to create a “cytokine storm,” which may lead to life-threatening complications in COVID-19 patients.

T-cell lymphocytes are a type of white blood cells produced by the human immune system against different types of pathogens, including viruses. They can identify the pathogen and act against them.

The researchers, therefore, suggest that the T-cell response should be enhanced in men through vaccines. In women, on the other hand, the focus should be on dampening the cytokine response.

The study findings have been published in the journal Nature.