Comparison of sperm parameters and DNA fragmentation index between infertile men with infection and vaccines of COVID-19

Abstract

Several preventive measures, including vaccination, have been implemented owing to the severe global effect of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), but there is still limited evidence in the effect of this disease and vaccination against it on male fertility. Therefore, this study is to compare sperm parameters of infertile patients with or without COVID-19 infection and the effect of COVID-19 vaccine types on them. Semen samples of infertile patients were collected consecutively at Universitas Indonesia - Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital (Jakarta, Indonesia). COVID-19 was diagnosed by rapid antigen or polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests. Vaccination was performed with three types of vaccine, namely inactivated viral vaccine, messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine, and viral vector vaccine. Spermatozoa were then analyzed on the World Health Organization recommendations, and DNA fragmentation was assayed with the sperm chromatin dispersion kit. The results showed that the COVID-19 group experienced a significant decrease in sperm concentration and progressive motility (both P < 0.05), but there was no significant change in morphology or sperm DNA fragmentation index (DFI; both P > 0.05). The viral vector vaccine caused a decrease in morphology as well as an increase in DFI compared with the control (both P < 0.05), meanwhile results for those who were vaccinated with the inactivated and mRNA types were not significant compared with the control (both P > 0.05). We conclude that COVID-19 has negative effects on sperm parametes and sperm DNA fragmentation, and we found that the viral vector vaccines affect sperm parameter values and DNA fragmentation negatively. Further studies with a larger population and longer follow-up are needed to confirm the results.

Male reproductive function before and after the adjustment of the COVID-19 prevention policy: a multicenter study in China

“…Then, the high levels of oxidative stress led to the enhancement of the apoptotic process, which resulted in sperm DNA damage. 25 26 27 28 In addition, the median value of sperm DFI was found to be significantly higher in the infertile group compared to the fertile group. Wiweko and Utami 29 found that the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) value of sperm DFI was 0.862 with a sensitivity of 80.8% and specificity of 86.1%.…”

Comprehensive evaluation of inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccination on sperm parameters and sex hormones

“…In this study, we comprehensively investigated potential adverse effects of inactivated COVID-19 vaccination on male fertility. Compared to other studies ( 14 , 19 , 23 ), our study included booster dose and combinations of different doses of vaccines. We found that there were no changes in most semen parameters in males before and after receiving any dose or doses.…”

“…Although some studies have found a temporary decrease in sperm concentration and total sperm motility after 1 + 2 doses of mRNA vaccination compared to unvaccinated men, whether this conclusion applies to inactivated vaccines remains to be verified ( 16 , 17 ). Moreover, most of the participants included in previous studies on inactivated vaccines underwent semen analysis only once, making it difficult to use a pre and post control group design to eliminate confounding factors and selection bias ( 15 , 18 , 19 ). Therefore, we performed this study to comprehensively investigate the effect of inactivated COVID-19 vaccination on male fertility, hoping to provide more valuable information for future public health efforts.…”

Effects of COVID-19 vaccination on human fertility: a post-pandemic literature review

“…also included multiple vaccines in their study, and they conducted subgroup analysis on different vaccine types. However, this study showed the drawbacks of viral vector vaccine in causing a decrease in morphology as well as an increase in sperm DNA fragmentation index [ 46 ]. In a study by Meitei et al.…”