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Comment by smt88 | Hacker News Reader

Both balding and infection severity (e.g. flu) are related to testosterone levels. That's probably the common causal factor here.

I'm surprised we don't see them speculate about that connection in the discussion.

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is the infection severity angle due to testosterone's immunosuppressive effects as a steroid? are women less likely to develop severe covid-19 than men?

I'm hoping I've gotten some extra protection by ditching testosterone for estrogen, but there's almost no data on infections in trans people on HRT.

> is the infection severity angle due to testosterone's immunosuppressive effects as a steroid?

Yes, most likely[1].

> are women less likely to develop severe covid-19 than men?

Yes[2]. This was an early observation and has been observed consistently since Covid-19 was discovered.

> I'm hoping I've gotten some extra protection by ditching testosterone for estrogen

That's an interesting question. I'm a layperson, but I would assume the answer is yes, since testosterone levels seems to be the root cause of the sex differences in immune response. I'm sure the doctor who helped/helps you transition would know.

It's possible that vitamin D (another hormone and a secosteroid) is an even more important factor than testosterone, in case you're looking for other ways to safely reduce your risk of severe Covid.

1. https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/man-flu-really-thing-201...

2. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-19741-6

Have no idea why this comment was down voted. Upvoted to compensate

"There are a lot of myths out there about balding men. One of them is that men with MPB are more virile and have higher levels of testosterone. This isn’t necessarily the case. Men with MPB may actually have lower circulating levels of testosterone but higher levels of the enzyme that converts testosterone to DHT. Alternately, you may simply have genes that give you hair follicles that are highly sensitive to testosterone or DHT." [1]

[1]: https://www.healthline.com/health/hair-loss-and-testosterone

Last time i checked you need a specific gene for your testosterone and dihydro-testosterone to cause baldness. So a full-head could have higher T levels and more hair. Balding MTF transgenders do often regain significant ground once they decrease T levels.

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