tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
World J Mens Health
. 2022 Aug 16.
doi: 10.5534/wjmh.220055. Online ahead of print.
mRNA and Viral Vector COVID-19 Vaccines Do Not Affect Male Fertility: A Prospective Study
Claudia Massarotti[SUP] #[/SUP][SUP] 1 [/SUP], Sara Stigliani[SUP] #[/SUP][SUP] 2 [/SUP], Elena Maccarini[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Francesca Bovis[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Mattia Francesco Ferraro[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Irene Gazzo[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Paola Anserini[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Paola Scaruffi[SUP] 4 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
Purpose: To assess whether mRNA and viral vector coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines detrimentally affected semen parameters.
Materials and methods: In this prospective study, we enrolled 101 men vaccinated for COVID-19 (76% received mRNA vaccines, 20% viral vector vaccines, 2% a mixed formulation, and for 2 men no information about vaccine type was available) in 2021 and with a previous semen analysis. For each man we compared semen parameters before and after vaccination.
Results: Post-vaccine samples were obtained at a median of 2.3±1.5 months after the second dose. After vaccination, the median sample volume significantly decreased (from 3.0 to 2.6 mL, p=0.036), whereas the median sperm concentration, the progressive motility, and total motile sperm count increased (from 25.0 to 43.0 million/mL, p<0.0001; from 50% to 56%, p=0.022; from 34.8 to 54.6 million, p<0.0001, respectively). Thirty-four patients were oligospermic before the vaccine, and also in these patients we observed a significant increase of sperm parameters after vaccine. Finally, we confirmed the aforementioned results in men who received a mRNA or a viral vector vaccine.
Conclusions: The semen parameters following COVID-19 vaccination did not reflect any causative detrimental effect from vaccination, and for the first time we demonstrated that this applies to both mRNA and viral-vector vaccines. The known individual variation in semen and the reduced abstinence time before the post-vaccine sample collection may explain the increases in sperm parameters.
Keywords: COVID-19; Infertility, male; Semen analysis; Vaccines, synthetic.
. 2022 Aug 16.
doi: 10.5534/wjmh.220055. Online ahead of print.
mRNA and Viral Vector COVID-19 Vaccines Do Not Affect Male Fertility: A Prospective Study
Claudia Massarotti[SUP] #[/SUP][SUP] 1 [/SUP], Sara Stigliani[SUP] #[/SUP][SUP] 2 [/SUP], Elena Maccarini[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Francesca Bovis[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Mattia Francesco Ferraro[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Irene Gazzo[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Paola Anserini[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Paola Scaruffi[SUP] 4 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 36047075
- DOI: 10.5534/wjmh.220055
Abstract
Purpose: To assess whether mRNA and viral vector coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines detrimentally affected semen parameters.
Materials and methods: In this prospective study, we enrolled 101 men vaccinated for COVID-19 (76% received mRNA vaccines, 20% viral vector vaccines, 2% a mixed formulation, and for 2 men no information about vaccine type was available) in 2021 and with a previous semen analysis. For each man we compared semen parameters before and after vaccination.
Results: Post-vaccine samples were obtained at a median of 2.3±1.5 months after the second dose. After vaccination, the median sample volume significantly decreased (from 3.0 to 2.6 mL, p=0.036), whereas the median sperm concentration, the progressive motility, and total motile sperm count increased (from 25.0 to 43.0 million/mL, p<0.0001; from 50% to 56%, p=0.022; from 34.8 to 54.6 million, p<0.0001, respectively). Thirty-four patients were oligospermic before the vaccine, and also in these patients we observed a significant increase of sperm parameters after vaccine. Finally, we confirmed the aforementioned results in men who received a mRNA or a viral vector vaccine.
Conclusions: The semen parameters following COVID-19 vaccination did not reflect any causative detrimental effect from vaccination, and for the first time we demonstrated that this applies to both mRNA and viral-vector vaccines. The known individual variation in semen and the reduced abstinence time before the post-vaccine sample collection may explain the increases in sperm parameters.
Keywords: COVID-19; Infertility, male; Semen analysis; Vaccines, synthetic.