COVID-19 infection may reduce fertility in men

COVID-19 can negatively affect sperm quality and reduce fertility in men, according to research published in Reproduction. The study indicates that COVID-19 infection can cause increased sperm death, inflammation and oxidative stress, resulting in lower sperm quality and potentially reducing fertility. These findings provide the first direct experimental evidence that the male reproductive system can be affected and damaged by COVID-19, and suggest that male reproductive function should be assessed after infection to detect and prevent further fertility problems.

COVID-19 is a coronavirus that causes respiratory diseases and, in elderly people or those with specific underlying medical problems, the infection can be serious and even lead to death. The World Health Organization announced a global virus pandemic on March 11, 2020. The disease is transmitted predominantly by respiratory droplets that infect the lungs, kidneys, intestines and heart, however, other studies have also found that it can infect the reproductive organs male, impairing the development of sperm and disrupting reproductive hormones. These findings suggest that the male reproductive system is potentially vulnerable to COVID-19 infection, however, the effects of the virus on male reproductive function are unclear.

Ph.D. Student and principal researcher Behzad Hajizadeh Maleki and his team at Justus-Liebig-University investigated the effect of COVID-19 infection on male fertility by assessing markers of inflammation, oxidative stress, sperm death and semen quality. The analysis was performed at 10-day intervals for a follow-up time of 60 days, in 84 men with confirmed COVID-19 and 105 healthy controls of the same age. A urology specialist determined that all men were fertile. In men with COVID-19, markers of inflammation and oxidative stress in sperm cells increased significantly by more than 100% compared to healthy controls of the same age, the pathways that facilitate sperm cell death were activated and the concentration of sperm was reduced by 516%, mobility by 209% and the shape of the sperm cell was changed by 400%. This condition represents oligoastenoteratozoospermia, which is one of the most common causes of subfertility in men.

“These effects on sperm cells are associated with poorer sperm quality and reduced fertility potential. Although these effects tend to improve over time, they have remained significantly and abnormally greater in patients with COVID-19, and the magnitude of these changes has also increased. were related to disease severity “, comments Behzad Hajizadeh Maleki.

These new findings increase our current understanding of the disease and reveal that men who recover from COVID-19 may have a harder time conceiving due to the abnormally low quality of sperm. This suggests that reproductive function should be monitored and evaluated by healthcare professionals after infection, in order to detect and prevent more serious reproductive problems in the future.

Behzad Hajizadeh Maleki adds: “The results of this study also suggest that the male reproductive system should be considered a vulnerable route of infection by COVID-19 and should be declared a high risk organ by the World Health Organization.”

More extensive studies, with longer follow-up, are needed to validate the conclusions drawn from this study and determine exactly how COVID-19 affects reproduction and fertility in men.

Supplied by Bioscientifica