Published on February 12, 2021
AHMEDABAD: The Covid-19 infection was deadlier for men in Gujarat, revealed analysis of the state health department. Of 4,394 deaths till February 6, 3,080 or 70% of the deceased were males, whereas1,314 or 30% were females.
Analysis of the age of the deceased revealed that 53% deceased were in the age group of 60-79, while 30.5% deaths in the 45-59 age group. Over all, the most (83.5%) fatalities were reported in the 45-79 age group.
Dr Maharshi Desai, a citybased critical care expert and member of the state-appointed committee on Covid-19 control, said that the data is in sync with the Indian scenario.
“It is a fact that less women than men died of Covid-19. More study is required to understand the gender aspect of the epidemic. One obvious factor could have been that men were more exposed to the virus due to their vocation,” Dr Desai said.
“One should also look at the overall death rate vis-à-vis positive cases in men and women,” he added.
Nationally, analysis of 1.47 lakh deaths till end of December had revealed that 70% of the mortality was among male patients. Nationally, 63% of the cases were among men and 52% of the cases were in 18-44 years of age group. However, out of overall deaths, it consisted only of 11%.
9% of deaths in 15-44 years group
In Gujarat, 9.2% of the deaths (405) were recorded from 15-44 years age bracket. At Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad – the biggest Covid-19 tertiary care centre in Gujarat, men accounted for 54% of the Covid-19 admissions and 66% of the deaths.
“The male to female death ratio was effectively 1.96:1. Multiple factors including severity (viral load) of the infection and hormonal make-up could be responsible for the phenomenon,” said Dr JP Modi, medical superintendent of Civil Hospital.
Dr Dileep Mavalankar, director of IIPH Gandhinagar (IIPH-G), said that globally, the trend indicates more positive cases and mortality among men. “One of the studies also indicated that men got higher primary infection and women secondary infection. The mortality rate in secondary infection is found to be lesser compared to the primary ones,” he said. “It’s also interesting to note that the recovery rate of patients above 80 years of age is remarkably better than those in the 60-80 years age group.
Gujarat recorded 285 new coronavirus cases and two deaths in the last 24 hours, the state Health Department said on Thursday evening.
The caseload in the state thus rose to 2,64,450, while the death toll due to the pandemic reached 4,399. Both the latest fatalities were reported from Ahmedabad district.
Parth Shastri Archive 