The following is a summary of “COVID-19 Increased Existing Gender Mortality Gaps in High Income More than Middle Income Countries,” published in the September 2024 issue of Infectious Disease by Beegle et al.

Researchers conducted a retrospective study to investigate mortality patterns by sex and age groups across countries during the COVID-19 pandemic and the relationship with country income levels.

They used World Health Organization excess mortality estimates by sex and age groups for 75 countries in 2020 and 62 countries in 2021; patterns across countries using country-specific Poisson regressions with several excess deaths by groups defined by sex and age were examined. 

The results showed that men died at higher rates at all ages beyond 45 in all locations. In 2020, the pandemic inflated the gender mortality gap, though variations existed across countries and by income level. In high-income countries, rates of excess mortality were higher for men than women as compared to middle-income countries; the sex ratio of excess mortality was equivalent to expected all-cause mortality. Further, the sex ratio of excess mortality observed in 2020 in high-income countries was reduced in 2021.

They concluded the COVID-19 pandemic had caused men to die at extremely higher rates than women, with these gender differences varying by country income level. These variations were linked to differences in gender patterns of infection rates and fatality rates across countries. In high-income countries, the gender gap in mortality got limited in 2021, due to COVID-19 vaccinations.

Source: ijidonline.com/article/S1201-9712(24)00238-8/fulltext