tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
J Med Virol
. 2020 Jul 4.
doi: 10.1002/jmv.26259. Online ahead of print.
Evaluation of Sex-Related Hormones and Semen Characteristics in Reproductive-Aged Male COVID-19 Patients
Ling Ma[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Wen Xie[SUP] 2 3 [/SUP], Danyang Li[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Lei Shi[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Guangming Ye[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Yanhong Mao[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Yao Xiong[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Hui Sun[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Fang Zheng[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Zhimin Chen[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Jyuling Qin[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Jing Lyu[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Yuanzhen Zhang[SUP] 1 5 6 [/SUP], Ming Zhang[SUP] 1 5 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
In the past several months, the outbreak of 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. Great concern was raised about whether COVID-19 may affect male reproductive functions. In this study, we collected semen specimens from twelve male COVID-19 patients for virus detection and semen characteristics analysis. No SARS-CoV-2 was found in semen specimens. 8 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 (WBC) and c-reactive protein (CRP) level 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. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; male gonadal function; semen analysis; sex-related hormones.
. 2020 Jul 4.
doi: 10.1002/jmv.26259. Online ahead of print.
Evaluation of Sex-Related Hormones and Semen Characteristics in Reproductive-Aged Male COVID-19 Patients
Ling Ma[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Wen Xie[SUP] 2 3 [/SUP], Danyang Li[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Lei Shi[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Guangming Ye[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Yanhong Mao[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Yao Xiong[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Hui Sun[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Fang Zheng[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Zhimin Chen[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Jyuling Qin[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Jing Lyu[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Yuanzhen Zhang[SUP] 1 5 6 [/SUP], Ming Zhang[SUP] 1 5 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 32621617
- DOI: 10.1002/jmv.26259
Abstract
In the past several months, the outbreak of 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. Great concern was raised about whether COVID-19 may affect male reproductive functions. In this study, we collected semen specimens from twelve male COVID-19 patients for virus detection and semen characteristics analysis. No SARS-CoV-2 was found in semen specimens. 8 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 (WBC) and c-reactive protein (CRP) level 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. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; male gonadal function; semen analysis; sex-related hormones.