Say it, Don’t Spray It: Do Men or Women Spread More Respiratory Droplets?

You’re likely up to speed at this point on how COVID-19 and other viruses spread: people who are infected release particles and respiratory droplets containing the virus into the air when they exhale. “Exhale” covers a wide range of things like breathing, speaking, singing, exercising, coughing and sneezing.

As time goes on, scientists are learning more about who can spread more respiratory droplets and when. Here are the latest findings:

• A study with participants ranging from 19-66 years old found that those who were older with higher body mass indexes (BMI) had three times the number of exhaled respiratory droplets as others in the study group.

• Those with an increasing degree of COVID-19 infection also had three times the number of exhaled respiratory droplets as others in the study. This means that anyone, regardless of age or health status, may produce a large number of respiratory droplets when infected by COVID-19, peaking within about a week from first infection.

• Airborne transmission appears to be affected by the volume at which someone is talking or singing. Singing produces 77% more respiratory particles.
• On average, men emit about 30 percent more particles than women, mostly because men have larger lungs. (Plus, adults produced 62% more respiratory particles than children)

These types of findings are just a piece of the puzzle, but can potentially play a role in better understanding super-spreader events, and the most effective precautions in reducing the transmission of COVID-19.