Assessing sex differential in COVID-19 mortality rate by age and polymerase chain reaction test results: an Iranian multi-center study

Background: The aim of this study is to evaluate the sex differential effect in the COVID-19 mortality by different age groups and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test results. Research design: In a multicenter cross-sectional study from 55 hospitals in Tehran, Iran, patients were categorized as positive, negative, and suspected cases. Results: A total of 25,481 cases (14,791 males) were included in the study with a mortality rate of 12.0%. The mortality rates in positive, negative, and suspected cases were 20.55%, 9.97%, and 7.31%, respectively. Using a Cox regression model, sex had a significant effect on the hazard of death due to COVID-19 in adult and senior male patients having positive and suspected PCR test results. However, sex was not found as significant factor for mortality in patients with a negative PCR test in different age groups. Conclusions: Regardless of other risk factors, we found that the effect of sex on COVID-19 mortality varied significantly in different age groups. Therefore, appropriate strategies should be designed to protect adult and senior males from this deadly infectious disease. Furthermore, owing to the considerable death rate of COVID-19 patients with negative test results, new policies should be launched to increase the accuracy of diagnosis tests.