Blocked by Gender: Disparities in COVID19 infection detection in Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract

Globally, a gender gap in COVID-19 has been noted with men reporting higher share of both morbidity and deaths compared to women. While the gender gap in fatalities has been similar across the globe, there have been interesting disparities in the detection of COVID-19 cases in men and women. While wealthier, more developed nations have generally seen similar case detection in men and women, LMICs especially in Asia have seen far greater proportion of COVID-19 cases among men than women. We utilize age and sex-disaggregated data from the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu across two waves of the pandemic (May 2020 – Nov 2020, and March 2021, to June 2021) and find that there were only ~70% as many detected COVID-19 cases among women as there were among men. Our initial reading suggested that this might be a protective effect of lower labor force participation rates among women across much of South Asia. However, subsequent sero-prevalence results from Tamil Nadu conducted on October-November 2020, and June-July, 2021 suggest that infection incidence has been similar among men and women; as is the case in countries with better health infrastructure. This empirical puzzle suggests that reduced case detection among women cannot be immediately associated with limited public exposure, but rather evidence of a chronic neglect of women in healthcare access. Overall, we contend that an attention to the gender context holds promise to effective interventions in detection and prevention that goes beyond the traditional epidemiological logic of diseases.

Progress of Gene‐Functionalized Regenerative Material Repair Intervertebral Disc Degeneration

“…Furthermore, patients with unbearable pain and intolerance to surgery may benefit from epidural and periroot corticosteroid injections, which provide short‐term but temporary pain relief. [ 51 ] A robust body is essential to conservative care. To relax local muscle tissue, encourage the prolapsed nucleus pulposus to return, ease discomfort, and eventually relieve tension on nearby spinal neurons, physical therapy is a crucial component of conservative treatment.…”

“…To relax local muscle tissue, encourage the prolapsed nucleus pulposus to return, ease discomfort, and eventually relieve tension on nearby spinal neurons, physical therapy is a crucial component of conservative treatment. [ 51,52 ] Endoscopic degenerating IVD nucleus pulposus and lumbar fusion can help relieve some of the chronic low back pain caused by IDD. Nevertheless, surgical treatment may have problems such as easy recurrence, postoperative complications, and second surgery.…”

“…to repair the IVD. [ 12,51 ] The poor internal microenvironment of degenerative IVD leads to dysregulation of IVD cell signal and abnormal function. [ 4 ] Hydrogels and other regenerative materials to support bioactive and small molecule pharmaceuticals have increased drug use efficiency and improved disc repair effects.…”

“…[ 2 ] Disc degeneration cannot be repaired with the current restricted and inadequate therapy approaches for IDD. [ 51 ] Although stem cells and bioactive medications loaded in regenerative materials have demonstrated some promise in aiding in the healing of degenerative IDDs, they can still not reverse the IDD process from the root. [ 56 ] Conventional gene therapy, which relies on transfecting viruses or NPs, has drawbacks like temporary drug release and host immunity.…”