Male fertility can be significantly affected by Covid-19

In a study in Germany, patients with Covid-19 had an increase of more than 100% in the markers of inflammation and oxidative stress in sperm cells

A new study published in the scientific journal  Reproduction suggests that  Covid-19 can affect sperm and reduce male fertility. The research indicates that infection with the new coronavirus can intensify the death of sperm, in addition to inflammation and oxidative stress.

These findings provide the first direct experimental evidence that the male reproductive system can be affected and damaged by Sars-CoV-2  and suggest that men's reproductive function should be assessed after infection to detect and prevent further fertility problems.

Ph.D. student and researcher Behzad Hajizadeh Maleki and his team at Justus-Liebig University, Germany, investigated the effect of Covid-19 on men's fertility by assessing markers of inflammation, oxidative stress, sperm death, and semen quality. Over the course of 60 days, 84 men infected with the new coronavirus and 105 healthy volunteers were examined every 10 days.

A urology specialist determined that all men were fertile. Those with Covid-19 had an increase of more than 100% in the markers of inflammation and oxidative stress in sperm cells compared to those who had not been contaminated. The pathways that facilitate the death of sperm cells have been activated and the concentration of sperm has been reduced by 516%, mobility by 209%, and the shape of the sperm cell has been changed by 400%. 

“These effects on sperm cells are associated with poor sperm quality and reduced fertility potential. Although these effects tend to improve over time, they remained significantly and abnormally higher in patients with Covid-19, and the magnitude of these changes was also related to the severity of the disease, ”comments Maleki, in a note.