Are men more vulnerable to coronavirus?

Researchers have come up with various findings over the course of time about the deadly coronavirus. There is some evidence that claims men are more vulnerable to coronavirus than women.
The study has found out the reason behind the increased vulnerability of men, which they say could be related to the concentration of a key enzyme in the blood of men and women.

The study

According to the paper published in the Europen Heart Journal, the concentration of the enzyme ACE2 in the blood is higher in men than women. The role of ACE2 in COVID 19 has well been established as an enzyme which allows novel coronavirus to infect the human cell. The researchers measured the ACE2 concentrations in the blood samples from thousands of heart failure patient from different European countries.
As everyone involved in the study was a heart patient, the study also proved that heart drugs called RAAS inhibitors did not lead to the higher concentration of ACE2 in their blood. This proves that the ACE2 concentration the blood is naturally more in men than women, which makes men more vulnerable.

However, data from earlier studies is in stark contrast to this new study. The earlier study found that the RAAS inhibitors might increase the ACE2 concentration in the blood plasma. But it has been proven that is not the case.

The limitations of the study

The European Society of Cardiology discussed the limitation of the study. It said the study looked only at the concentration of ACE2 in plasma and not in the tissues such as lung tissue, so they cannot be sure of the concentration in the blood, which is similar to that in the tissues. The ACE2 in the lung tissues is the key to lung infection.

The Cardiology Society said the study can't provide definitive evidence on the effects of RAAS inhibitors in COVID 19 patients. The conclusions are mainly restricted to heart failure patients, who did not have COVID 19.