Covid-19 infection may reduce fertility in men: study

PARIS – Covid19 can damage sperm quality and reduce fertility in men, according to a new study based on experimental evidence.

The viral disease – which swept the world, claiming nearly 2.2 million lives – may cause increased sperm death, inflammation and so-called oxidative stress, researchers in the journal reported on Friday. Reproduction.

“These results provide the first direct experimental evidence that the male reproductive system could be targeted and damaged by Covid-19,” the authors concluded.

Experts commenting on the research, however, said the ability of the virus to compromise fertility in men remains to be proven.

Covid-19 causes respiratory illness, especially in the elderly and those with underlying medical conditions.

The world has recorded more than 100 million confirmed cases since the disease emerged in central China at the end of 2019.

Transmitted by respiratory droplets, the disease attacks the lungs, kidneys, intestines and heart.

It can also infect male reproductive organs, interfere with sperm development and disrupt reproductive hormones, previous studies have shown. The same receptors that the virus uses to access lung tissue are also found in the testes.

But the effects of the virus on the ability of humans to reproduce have been unclear.

Behzad Hajizadeh Maleki and Bakhtyar Tartibian from Justus-Liebig University in Germany looked for biological markers that could indicate a negative impact on fertility.

Analysis performed at 10-day intervals for 60 days in 84 men with Covid-19 was compared with data from 105 healthy men.

In Covid-19 patients, sperm have shown significant increases in markers of inflammation and oxidative stress, a chemical imbalance that can damage DNA and proteins in the body.

– “Strong warning” –

“These effects on sperm are associated with inferior sperm quality and reduced fertility potential,” Maleki said in a statement.

“Although these effects tended to improve over time, they remained significantly and abnormally higher in Covid-19 patients.”

The more severe the disease, the greater the changes, he added.

The male reproductive system “should be considered a vulnerable pathway for Covid-19 infection and declared a high-risk organ by the World Health Organization,” Maleki said.

Experts not involved in the study welcomed the research, but cautioned that more was needed before any firm and rapid conclusions were drawn.

“Men should not be unduly alarmed,” noted Alison Campbell, director of embryology for the CARE Fertility Group in Britain.

“There is currently no definitive evidence of lasting damage caused by Covid-19, to sperm or to male reproductive potential,” she told Science Media Center in London.

The results could have been skewed, she added, by the fact that the men recovering from Covid were treated with corticosteroids and antiviral therapy, while the control group was not.

Allan Pacey, a specialist in male reproductive medicine at the University of Sheffield, raised a “strong caveat” about how the data has been interpreted.

Some of the indicators of declining sperm quality could be due to factors other than Covid-19, he said, noting that more men in the Covid-19 group were overweight.

The simple fact that only one group was very sick – whatever the cause – also had to be taken into account, he added.

“We already know that a febrile illness can impact sperm production regardless of the cause.”