The effects of COVID-19 on semen parameters in healthy males

Abstract

BACKGROUND To investigate the effects of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on spermatogenesis and the potential impact of COVID-19 on patients with normal semen parameters before the diagnosis of COVID-19. RESULTS The mean age of the patients was 31.82 ± 5.93 years. An abnormality was detected in at least one parameter in the semen analysis after COVID-19 in 9 patients (40.90%) whose semen analysis was normal before COVID-19. When post-COVID-19 sperm samples of the patients were divided into two groups as normal and abnormal, in the abnormal group, motility, progressive motility, and morphology were found to be significantly decreased, immotility significantly increased, and semen pH tended to be more alkaline. CONCLUSIONS Even though the effects of COVID-19 on spermatogenesis are not clearly understood, COVID-19 infection may have negative effects on semen parameters and play a role in fertilization. The expected duration for spermatogenesis to show normal findings may be longer in persons with post-COVID-19 infection.