Age-dependent Gender Differences in COVID-19 in Mainland China: Comparative Study

Abstract

Background: The ongoing pandemic of novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is challenging the global public health system. Sex differences in infectious diseases are a common but neglected problem. Methods: We used the national surveillance database of COVID-19 in mainland China to compare gender differences in attack rate (AR), proportion of severe and critical cases (PSCC), and case fatality rate (CFR) in relation to age, affected province, and onset-to-diagnosis interval. Results: The overall AR was significantly higher in females than in males (63.9 vs 60.5 per 1 million persons; P