Open Post #4: Is the Flu Harder on Men Than It Is on Women?

A study has found that because women have higher levels of estrogen in their bodies, they are better protected against the flu virus. Viruses spread through the body by replicating infected cells; how much these infected cells replicate determines how severe the sickness will be. After doing tests on men and women to see how the cells replicate, it was found that the cells in women don't replicate as much as the cells in men do.

Photo credit: diaryofadreamhome.com

I have learned this information by reading an article (which I will attach at the bottom of this post) titled "Not the Weaker Sex: Estrogen Protects Women Against the Flu, Study Finds". This article caught my attention because I never knew that something such as estrogen could have an effect on the flu virus. After reading this and confirming the fact that it is true that the flu does hit men harder than women, I realized that I have noticed this in my own life. Every time my family gets sick, we usually all get sick at the same time. I would say that most times, my dad and my brother seem to be worse than my mom and I when we're sick. After reading this article, I can say that I am not very surprised that it is true, even though this was an interesting article to read. 


The only questions I have are: Is the level of estrogen in women related to any other sicknesses besides the flu? Or could having higher levels of estrogen be an advantage for anything else that isn't exactly a sickness?

This was a very interesting article and I suggest you read it if you're interested because it has much more detail than I have explained here. Thanks for reading!

"Not the Weaker Sex: Estrogen Protects Women Against the Flu, Study Finds." American Physiological Society. American Physiological Society, 12 Jan. 2016. Web. 20 Feb. 2016.

http://www.the-aps.org/mm/hp/Audiences/Public-Press/2016/2.html