Twice as many men of all age groups die of COVID-19 than women, the Croatian Jutarnji List daily said on Thursday.

By January 4, a total of 4,126 people died of COVID-19 in Croatia – 2,417 men (59%) and 1,709 women (41%).

The COVID-19 case fatality rate (CFR), which shows the proportion of deaths compared to the total number of people diagnosed, shows “that this epidemic is much more dangerous for older than younger generations,” the newspaper quoted Dario Mustac, a PhD candidate at the Zagreb Faculty of Economics & Business, as saying.

“The case fatality rate in every age group is higher for men than for women. For example, one in eight men infected in the 70-79 age group dies, as do almost 40% of the men infected aged 90 or older.”

According to an analysis by Mustac, the CFR in the 40-49 age group is 0.15% for men and 0.11% for women, while in the 50-59 age group it is 1.06% for men and 0.26% for women. The higher the age, the higher the CFR, but it is twice as high for men than for women.

In the 60-69 age group, COVID-19 has been fatal for 3.54% of men and 1.6% of women, in the 70-79 age group for 12.83% of men and 6.56% of women, in the 80-89 age group for 24.71% of men and 14.28% of women, and in those 90 and older for 38.71% of men and 17.49% of women.

The higher CFR among men in comparison to women is noticeable in most countries. The first case studies in China show that it was 2.8% among men and 1.7% among women.