Men account for the majority of coronavirus infections and many more deaths, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Thursday at a press conference, with experts saying smoking could be a factor in the discrepancy between the sexes.
"Men account for about 60% of all those infected [with the new coronavirus in Japan], but account for more than 70% of deaths," Suga said.
He added, "There seem to be a variety of factors, such as age or the presence of underlying diseases, that are involved with determining the severity of the disease, whether gender singularly has any effect, however, isn't clear."
According to the World Health Organization, the mortality rate of the virus in men is higher than women in Europe, and two of every three people who have died of the new coronavirus are men.
Experts show that smoking is one of the factors that can increase the severity of new coronavirus infections.
According to the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry's National Health and Nutrition Survey, 29% of men were smokers in 2018, as opposed to just 8.1% of women.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
