COVID-19 patients with altered steroid hormone levels are more likely to have higher disease severity

• Published in: Endocrine Vol. 78; no. 2; pp. 373 - 379
• Main Authors: Sezer, Sevilay, Bal, Ceylan, Kalem, Ayşe Kaya, Kayaaslan, Bircan, Eser, Fatma, Hasanoglu, İmran, Akıncı, Esragül, Güner, Rahmet, Erel, Özcan, Yılmaz, Gülsen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.11.2022; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: 17β-Estradiol; Aldosterone; Androstenedione; Coronaviruses; Corticosterone; COVID-19; Dehydroepiandrosterone; Dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate; Diabetes; Dihydrotestosterone; Endocrinology; Estrone; Humanities and Social Sciences; Internal Medicine; Liquid chromatography; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; multidisciplinary; Original; Original Article; Pregnenolone; Progesterone; Science; Steroid hormones; Steroids; COVID-19; Tandem Mass Spectrometry; Adrenal Insufficiency; Steroids
• ISSN: 1559-0100; 1355-008X; 1559-0100
• DOI: 10.1007/s12020-022-03140-6

Purpose This study aims to evaluate the correlations between the severity of the disease and serum steroid levels by analyzing the serum steroid levels in COVID-19 patients with different levels of disease progression and the control group. Methods Morning serum Aldosterone, 11-deoxycortisol, Androstenedione, 17-hydroxyprogesterone, Dihydrotestosterone (DHT), Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), Corticosterone, Dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS), Estrone, Estradiol, Progesterone, 11-deoxycorticosterone, Cortisol, Corticosterone, Androsterone, Pregnenolone, 17-hydroxypregnenolone and 21-deoxycortisol levels were measured in 153 consecutive patients were grouped as mild, moderate, and severe based on the WHO COVID-19 disease severity classification and the control group. Steroid hormone levels were analyzed at once with a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometric method (LC-MS/MS). Results In our study, nearly all steroids were statistically significantly higher in the patients’ group than in the control group ( p  < 0.001). Also, DHEA was an independent indicator of the disease severity with COVID-19 Conclusions Our study reveals that the alteration in steroid hormone levels was correlated with disease severity. Also, steroid hormone levels should be followed up during COVID-19 disease management.