Relationship of inflammatory mediators and sex-related parameters in Jordanian adult men patients with Covid-19

BACKGROUND: Recent epidemiological data suggest that Co - ro navirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has a gender predisposition, with men being more seriously affected than women. Furthermore, older men accounting for most deaths. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the serum testosterone, inhibin B, intrleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-a) levels in different age groups of Jordanian males with SARS-CoV2 infection and to evaluate the correlation of these markers in male patients with COVID-19. METHODS: This study was performed on 157 selected individuals divided into two groups; COVID-19 patients and healthy controls. The participants of each group were further divided into two subgroups based on the age (20-50 years and 51-80 years age groups). The biochemical tests that were performed in this research are testosterone, inhibin-B, TNF-a, and IL-6. RESULTS: The levels of IL-6 were significantly higher in COVID-19 patients than healthy individuals (7.63 ± 6.30 vs. 5.54 ± 2.10, P=0.006). Similarly, the difference between the levels of TNF-a in the study groups were statistically significant (P=0.001). The mean testosterone levels in COVID-19 patients and healthy controls were 1.53 ± 1.24 and 3.87 ± 1.44, respectively (P<0.001), whereas the mean inhibin B levels in COVID-19 patients (54.29 ± 7.33) were lower than in healthy controls (64.14 ± 37.66) with P = 0.011. TNF-a was significantly and positively correlated with age (r = 0.263, P=0.018) and IL-6 (r = 0.245, P=0.027). Inhibin B had a significant, but negative correlation with TNF-a (r = -0.326, P = 0.003). CONCLUSIONS: It can be concluded that most men seeking medical attention with symptomatic COVID-19 had low testosterone and inhibin B levels with increased both IL-6 and TNF-a, which are independent of age conforming the deleterious effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection on testicular function and immune response induction.