Evaluation of sex-related hormones and semen characteristics in reproductive-aged male COVID-19 patients.
J Med Virol
; 93(1): 456-462, 2021 01.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1196396
ABSTRACT
In the past several months, the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-associated infection (coronavirus disease 2019 [COVID-19]) developed rapidly and has turned into a global pandemic. Although SARS-CoV-2 mainly attacks respiratory systems, manifestations of multiple organs have been observed. A great concern was raised about whether COVID-19 may affect male reproductive functions. In this study, we collected semen specimens from 12 male COVID-19 patients for virus detection and semen characteristics analysis. No SARS-CoV-2 was found in semen specimens. Eight out of 12 patients had normal semen quality. We also compared the sex-related hormone levels between 119 reproductive-aged men with SARS-CoV-2 infection and 273 age-matched control men. A higher serum luteinizing hormone (LH) and a lower ratio of testosterone (T) to LH were observed in the COVID-19 group. Multiple regression analysis indicated that serum T LH ratio was negatively associated with white blood cell counts and C-reactive protein levels in COVID-19 patients. It's the first report about semen assessment and sex-hormone evaluation in reproductive-aged male COVID-19 patients. Although further study is needed to clarify the reasons and underlying mechanisms, our study presents an abnormal sex hormone secretion among COVID-19 patients, suggesting that attention should be paid to reproductive function evaluation in the follow-up.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Semen
/
Gonadal Steroid Hormones
/
Semen Analysis
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Cohort study
/
Experimental Studies
/
Prognostic study
/
Qualitative research
Topics:
Long Covid
Limits:
Adult
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
/
Young adult
Language:
English
Journal:
J Med Virol
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Jmv.26259
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