COVID: WOMEN AT GREATER RISK OF DYING

Indian women who contract Covid-19 are at a higher risk of dying than men, a recent study of cases has found — 3.3% of infected women died of the disease as against 2.9% of men.

“The data until May 20, 2020, suggests that the overall risk of mortality among women is slightly higher than men,” said William Joe, assistant professor at Population Research Centre at the Institute of Economic Growth, Delhi, and the lead author of the study.

The ratio of confirmed deaths to total confirmed cases is called the case fatality ratio (CFR). Higher CFR among women “is largely driven by a significantly higher risk of death among women in the age group 40-49 years. In all other age groups, including the elderly, we find that the mortality risk among men and women is more or less similar,” Joe said.

In other countries for which the data is available, “preliminary evidence” suggests that men are at a greatest risk of dying from the disease, but these "inferences should be carefully interpreted,” the study said.

In terms of overall numbers, more Indian men are diagnosed with and are dying of Covid-19, according to data from the study. Fewer women overall are being tested for coronavirus in India — of all tests, 67% were on men between January 30 and April 30, a June 2020 study had found. Further, though more men are diagnosed with Covid-19, a higher proportion of women tested were positive (4.2% women versus 3.8% men).

A higher percentage of women than men in India are malnourished and anaemic while a higher percentage of men have pre-existing health conditions such as diabetes and hypertension, or comorbidities. Both comorbidities and poor nutrition are related to Covid-19 fatalities.