COVID-19 Pandemic in Women–Rheumatologist’s Perspective

Abstract

COVID-19 has caused unprecedented challenges to every field. Rheumatic diseases (RD) are more common in women compared with men. Patients with RD are predisposed to infections both because of their disease and immunosuppressive medication. The severity of COVID-19 in women is less as compared with men among the general population. It is not known if the risk is higher in women with RD compared with other women. Currently, published data of COVID-19 in RD suggests similar or mildly increased risk in patients with RD but sex disaggregated data is not available. In this article, we review the current evidence of COVID-19 in RD with an emphasis on women.