Sex hormone and metabolic dysregulations are associated with critical illness in male Covid-19 patients

Abstract

Summary Males develop more severe SARS-CoV-2 infection related disease outcome than females. Herein, sex hormones were repeatedly proposed to play an important role in Covid-19 pathophysiology and immunity. However, it is yet unclear whether sex hormones are associated with Covid-19 outcome in males and females. In this study, we analyzed sex hormones, cytokine and chemokine responses as well as performed a large profile analysis of 600 metabolites in critically-ill male and female Covid-19 patients in comparison to healthy controls and patients with coronary heart diseases as a prime Covid-19 comorbidity. We here show that dysregulated sex hormones, IFN-γ levels and unique metabolic signatures are associated with critical illness in Covid-19 patients. Both, male and female Covid-19 patients, present elevated estradiol levels which positively correlates with IFN-γ levels. Male Covid-19 patients additionally display severe testosterone and triglyceride deficiencies as compared to female patients and healthy controls. Our results suggest that male Covid-19 patients suffer from multiple metabolic disorders, which may lead to higher risk for fatal outcome. These findings will help to understand molecular pathways involved in Covid-19 pathophysiology.