There was a post on HN a few days ago about a study that found low testosterone levels were correlated with worse Covid-19 outcomes. I think vitamin D is technically a hormone (or maybe is hormone-like?) so I wonder if itβs absorbed differently by men than women. Or maybe low testosterone is just a side effect of a vitamin D deficiency in men.
It could also be low levels of sex hormones in general - having neither estrogen nor testosterone in your body causes osteoporosis, for example. Excess testosterone is metabolized into estrogen, as well.
But the endocrine system is ferociously complex - maybe endocrine abnormalities are a proxy for obesity, or an underlying thyroid issue etc.
According to [0], vitamin D deficiency is associated with higher free testosterone in men and lower estradiol in women. Higher testosterone is associated with cardiovascular problems, which are a big COVID risk factor.
But that doesn't jib well with the study you find, so I dunno what to make of it.
I think that low testosterone levels is correlated with being older which is correlated with worse Covid-19 outcomes, so age is the important factor here.
