Postmenopausal women with lower levels of estrogen appear to be at higher risk of developing severe COVID-19, research suggests.
The study, led by a team at King’s College London, UK, found high levels of estrogen may have a protective effect against the virus.
Using data from the COVID Symptom Study App, researchers examined the rate of predicted infection among postmenopausal women, premenopausal women using the combined oral contraceptive pill and postmenopausal women taking hormone replacement therapy (HRT).
More than 500,000 women were included in the study that took place between 7 May and 15 June “We hypothesised that premenopausal women with higher estrogen levels would have less severe COVID-19 when compared to women of the same age and BMI who had been through the menopause, and our findings supported this,” said joint lead author Dr Karla Lee from the university’s school of life course sciences.
“Additionally, when we compared a younger group of women on the combined oral contraceptive pill (COCP) with a similar group not taking the COCP we saw less severe COVID-19 among those taking the COCP, suggesting hormones in the COCP may offer some protection against COVID-19.
“More research is certainly needed to further our knowledge.”