A research has shown that men who are bald are more likely to die when they get the COVID-19 than men who have hair.
According to researchers, most men who have died, so far, since COVID-19 started in China, were bald.
This new risk factor is given the name of "Gabrin sign" after Frank Gabrin, the first physician in the United States who succumbed to COVID-19. He was also bald.
Brown University's Professor Carlos Wambier had told The Telegraph that they think baldness is the perfect predictor for the COVID-19 severity.
The COVID-19 is caused by the virus SARS-CoV-2.
Researchers who have been looking into the link between bald men and the COVID-19 believed that androgens, the male sex hormones such as testosterone, could be boosting the virus' ability to attack the cells.
Thus, it could be possible that the treatment that suppresses these hormones like those used to treat baldness and prostate cancer could also be used to slow down the virus and allow patients more time to fight it off.
However, further study is needed because the evidence on whether the hormone treatment will have the same effect on the lungs as that in prostate cells have been conflicting.
Although there are now several clinical studies that have started looking into it as more concrete evidence would be needed before they can conclude that these hormone therapies would be effective as a treatment for COVID-19.
Another study also found that men are more likely to die from COVID-19 than women. The researchers are not sure why but they are looking at factors such as immune system differences between men and women, lifestyle differences, and smoking.
With the COVID-19 pandemic still very much around and with no vaccine or treatment yet, everyone is advised to continue following protocols such as social distancing and hand sanitation.
