Abstract

Undoubtedly, the pandemic of COVID-19 has changed most of our life aspects including social, health services, and economic aspects. There is culminating evidence supports the presence of sex and gender differences in acquisition of this infectious disease and its subsequent outcomes with males having the unfavorable rates and course. There is a paucity of data in terms of sex and gender incorporation by countries, researchers, and data providers. However, in this review, we highlighted the various factors standing behind the sex and gender differences and how could these factors influence the COVID-19 disease and its incidence rate and outcome in both sexes. We explore and discuss these factors in genetic, molecular, and clinical bases and, hence, these findings can be taken in consideration by researchers and decision makers. Nevertheless, more comprehensive analyses and studies are required to figure out this issue and of course this requires more attention in reporting disaggregated sex and gender data.

Keywords: COVID-19; Cytokines; Gender; Sex; SARS-Cov-2

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