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The short-term effect of the COVID-19 infection history on semen parameters in men referred to infertility centers

Negar Osatd-Rahim, Fatemeh Ghorbani, mahsa jalali, Fatemeh Karimi, Alireza Ebrahimzade-bideskan, Sareh karimi

Abstract

Context: In recent years, the COVID-19 pandemic has been became as a threat to human health and has induced a global concern. The SARS-CoV-2 virus cause various disorders in the body systems, the reproductive system is no exception. On the other hand, the rate of infertile couples is increasing and part of this is related to male infertility. Aims: The aimed of present study was to investigate the impacts of COVID-19 infection history on semen quality in men referred to public and private infertility centers. Methods: In this research, patients were divided into two groups: 88men with a history of COVID-19 (Covid+) and 51men without a history of COVID-19 (Covid-). After semen collection, sperm parameters, fertilization rate and oxidative stress were investigated. Key results: Sperms with normal morphology and mature chromatin in patients with COVID-19 infection history decreased and seminal oxidative stress and sperm DNA fragmentation was increased, moreover fertilization rate in Covid+ group decreased in compare to Covid-. Conclusion: COVID-19 infection increases oxidative stress in the semen, so has negative effect on some sperm parameters and fertilization rate. Implications: COVID-19 infection impairs the semen quality by increasing in oxidative stress, so reduce the fertility potential.

RD24008  Accepted 04 June 2024

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