Does Estrogen Protect Against COVID-19?
A recent article published by global healthcare knowledge provider BJM suggests that insufficient estrogen levels may be linked to death from COVID-19 in certain women. They also suggest that supplemental hormone treatment may help to curb the severity of COVID-19 infections in post-menopausal women.
It is already well established that the female hormone estrogen regulates almost every aspect of a woman’s health and wellbeing – physically, mentally, and even cosmetically – throughout her entire life. And estrogen has been shown to play a role in the prevention of many serious health conditions in women.
As the original and leading bioidentical hormone replacement method, the hormone therapy experts at SottoPelle are excited to explore this amazing new application of estrogen.
Estrogen and Disease
Estrogen helps keep blood vessels healthy and elastic, controls cholesterol, and prevents increased inflammation. But once menopause strikes and estrogen levels drop, a woman’s risk of heart disease goes up dramatically. And heart disease is the number one cause of death in women in the US. But maintaining sufficient estrogen levels can help prevent against cardiac disease and death.
Similarly, estrogen is essential to maintaining strong, healthy bones. But as estrogen levels decline during menopause, the bones lose calcium, putting a woman at serious risk of broken bones. An estimated fifty percent of women over the age 50 will suffer a bone fracture because of osteoporosis! However, osteoporosis can be prevented in many women nearing or during menopause, through the use of 100% natural, convenient, and safe bioidentical estrogen replacement therapy.
Estrogen and Viral Infection
Overall, doctors will tell you that women have a less serious risk than men of contracting viral infections, including MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome).
And, from the beginning of the pandemic medical professionals have noticed that women also seem to have a lower risk of severe COVID-19 infection than men, even after accounting for potentially influential factors.
This strongly supports (although does not definitively prove), that the “gender discrepancy” in estrogen levels are instrumental in helping protect women from viral infection.
Research on Estrogen & COVID-19
In keeping with this “protective estrogen” theory, the BMJ study drew data from the Swedish Public Health Agency on women testing positive for COVID-19; as well as Statistics Sweden’s socioeconomic data; and the National Board of Health and Welfare information on causes of death).
When the data was compiled, it appeared that an older woman’s lowered estrogen levels may be linked to her chances of dying from COVID-19, while higher levels of estrogen in women is seemingly protective against more severe coronavirus infection.
The study included 14,685 women in total. Of these 227 (2%) had been previously diagnosed with breast cancer and were therefore taking estrogen-blocking drugs. And 2535 of the women (17%) were taking hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to relieve menopause symptoms. Finally, 11,923 of the women in the study (81%) weren’t on any type of treatment to enhance or reduce their estrogen levels.
Analysis of the data showed that, compared with no treatment:
- The odds of dying from COVID-19 were twice as high among women on estrogen blockers.
- The odds of dying from COVID-19 were 54% lower among women on hormone therapy.
Even accounting for possible influencing factors, such as age, annual income, education level, and preexisting health conditions, the odds of dying from COVID-19 were still significantly lower (53%) for women taking estrogen replacement therapy.
The study concluded that the effects of boosting estrogen levels likely resulted in a decrease in COVID-19 infection severity. Since this was only a preliminary, observational study, a direct cause can’t be definitively established, especially since the women in group 1 on estrogen-blocking therapy was relatively small.
However, the researchers concluded that: “This study shows an association between estrogen levels and COVID-19 death. Consequently, drugs increasing estrogen levels may have a role in therapeutic efforts to alleviate COVID-19 severity in postmenopausal women and could be studied in randomized control trials.”
Estrogen Replacement Therapy
This is just further evidence that estrogen is an extremely powerful and important hormone. Balanced estrogen levels are essential to keep a woman’s body and brain healthy and functioning properly – as well as to protect against many serious diseases.
If you suspect your estrogen levels may be low or out of balance, ask your physician about SottoPelle Method estrogen replacement pellet therapy. Or schedule an appointment with a certified SottoPelle physician in your area using our Physician Finder.
Protect your health with SottoPelle Method estrogen replacement pellets today!
Estrogen Replacement Therapy: (323) 986-5100
IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: This article is provided as general information only and is not intended to be used as medical advice. While the benefits of hormone replacement are well documented through clinical research, we are not representing that hormone therapy is a “cure” for any disease. Only your treating physician can determine if hormone replacement may be a beneficial part of your healthcare regimen, based on your age, overall health, risk factors, and lifestyle.
