New scientific study shows semen quality is compromised after COVID infection (Getty)
This has implications and consequences for our body coronavirus infection They are still being studied by scientists. This week, European reproductive experts assured that more than Three months after mild COVID infection, men have lower sperm counts and fewer sperm that can swim to fertilize an egg.
The statement comes from Spanish experts who unveiled a study conducted and presented at the this week 39th Congress of the European Society of Reproduction and Embryology (Eshre) taking place this week in Copenhagen.
like dr Rocío Núñez Calonge, scientific director of a group of assisted reproduction clinics, explains: “At least 100 days after a negative COVID test in men, there is no improvement in sperm count and motilityalthough new sperm were being produced during this period.
How does sperm production work (Marcelo Regalado infographic)
She added that there have been previous studies showing that semen quality is impaired in the short term after COVID infection, “but to our knowledge none of these have followed men over a longer period of time.”
The previous research the specialist is referring to is a study that measured semen parameters and inflammatory markers in 2021 in patients who had contracted COVID-19 and were cured. they watched Decreased sperm count and motility and non-specific markers of seminal inflammation about the presence of the virus. They also recorded the increase in sperm DNA fragmentation and concluded that basal semen parameters recovered it may take about 3 months.
But two years later, in a new scientific study, this time parameter can no longer be determined: “We assumed that semen quality would improve once new sperm were created, but that is not the case. “We don’t know how long it will take for semen quality to recover and it may be that COVID causes permanent damage, even in men who have suffered only a mild infection,” the embryologist pointed out.
Color scanning electron micrograph of sperm in the testicles. (science source)
dr Núñez Calonge and her colleagues observed that some men who attended clinics in Spain for assisted reproduction treatment Semen quality was worse after COVID infection than before infection, although they had recovered and the infection was mild. So they decided to investigate whether the SARS-COV-2 coronavirus had played a role in the quality loss. Since it takes about 70 days for new sperm to form, it seemed appropriate to assess semen quality at least three months after recovering from COVID.
Likewise the doctor Gabriel Fiszbajn. President of the Argentine Society of Reproductive Medicine (SAMeR), very long-term damage from the coronavirus mitigated It states: “There is no evidence that permanent semen damage occurs after mild COVID infection.” And he emphasized that stress, smoking, drugs, alcohol, endocrine disruptors, infections and various traumas can alter semen quality.
For the expert: “A study of 45 men cannot provide definitive conclusions. Well-conducted studies involving a larger population of individuals are needed to draw valid conclusions.”
Sperm quality presentations at the congress in Denmark
“Viruses circulate throughout the body and, depending on the characteristics of the virus, can affect certain parts more than others. Viruses are known to affect the testes, for example in mumps, because it can even lead to a total loss of sperm or to varying degrees. What has been observed with COVID has already been observed with a temporary decrease because there have been no longer-term comparative studies,” the obstetrician and fertility specialist began to explain. Sergio Pasqualini (MN 39914).
“As the study states, the sperm maturation cycle is at least 70 days. AND It has been confirmed that there is a drop after those 70 days. Whether this will be permanent, whether it will continue to get worse, or whether it will recover, can only be known over time and by repeating the studies. But it’s an interesting observational fact to take into account and draw conclusions about COVID, not only on this but many other things. If a virus or whatever is affected occurs, a person may or may not recover, and that’s what it’s all about. But Obviously in the testicle it is very difficult to go back to zero when damaged and it always remains to some degree, but it may also be that this affectation causes the future loss to happen more quickly, that is, there is coming, compared to what the future loss would have been without this virus also the personalization in every man,” said the expert.
And he added: “Viruses, like in this case COVID, obviously can have an impact, but they might not. In other words, it depends on each individual what condition they were in before the COVID infection. A man with a barbaric testicle function is not the same as another who doesn’t. And then there are many other things that can affect sperm quantity and quality. Bad habits, that is, smoking, alcohol, a sedentary lifestyle, in contrast to good habits, protect and slow down the loss of time. Because as time goes by it gets worse and worse. But of course, healthy habits matter, and unhealthy ones can have an impact. Again, it will depend on how the man is doing in terms of his genetics and when he is evaluated and then re-evaluated in the future.”
Further studies are needed to confirm a long-term impact of COVID on spermatozoa and also on eggs (CLÍNICA MAR&GEN DE GRANADA)
Pasqualini explained that This study can also be related to women. “Of course, more follow-up is needed, and that will come with time and the work that is published, but the evidence to date is that COVID can somehow affect sperm.” Importantly, in men, it is easier to detect the involvement of the assess male gametes. Because? Because a spermogram is made. However, if something affects the testicles, one can assume that the same could also be the case with the ovaries, which is more difficult to assess. But the ovarian reserve and fertility in women has also declined in recent decades, just like in men. So, If COVID can affect the testicles, it’s safe to assume that it certainly can in women as well“.
And he concluded: “What can be done now to avoid these things that can happen unexpectedly? Because testicular trauma, testicular torsion, a virus like COVID are all unplanned things that can happen at any time. So The way to preserve your future fertility is cryopreservation. And for men, it’s easy, you freeze a semen sample or two, it’s cheap, it’s non-significant maintenance, and it’s always good when there’s an event that could affect your fertility, and for what is too It will always affect you over the years. And if you did not have a specific event that affected you, that is, if you want to have a child by the age of 60, it is better to do it with sperm from your 30s. And the same thing happens with women too. Vitrification of oocytes is the only way to preserve them. And the reality is that the success of cryopreservation lies in freezing good sperm and good eggs. And that is primarily directly related to age. So it is good to take that into account and use such things to raise awareness in men and sperm cryopreservation is also a valid option to consider.”
Poor sperm quality is a problem in conceiving a pregnancy
“Probably this study is methodologically poorly done. First, because there are few men, and second, because there are few before and after rehearsals. There are several studies from the 70’s stating that a man is forced to masturbate once every two weeks and sees the spermogram once. Spectacular variability in seed concentration, sample by sample. So if you ask a man for a sample today and ask for another in two or three weeks, it probably won’t be the same or traceable. So you have to do an average of the samples, two or three before, two or three in the middle and two or three at the end, to see what the average semen concentration of these men is,” he explained infobae The doctor Fernando Neuspiller, President and Founder of WeFIV, Center for Reproductive Medicine (MN 82815).
Also in relation to this study would have to prove that there was damage. There are some studies on menstruation that indicate how women’s menstrual periods change due to a chronic inflammatory process related to the immune system. Suppose the immune system is compromised by chronic inflammation due to COVID. that chronic inflammation does not only affect the lungs, but that chronic inflammation affects all organs, including the testicles. “That could be one of the explanations for why this study shows that, but I’m more tempted to say that it’s methodologically flawed,” the expert added.
In addition to COVID, There are other factors that alter the quality and quantity of semen. Neuspiller insured. “This is reflected in numerous studies showing that current lifestyle affects semen concentration in men worldwide. In all countries you can see how the quantity of sperm produced per milliliter, their quality, motility and linearity are gradually changing. The quality of life depends on the constantly present pollutants, both in food and in microplastics and hormonesetc., and that would determine why, regardless of Rocío’s study, sperm counts in men are decreasing.”
Finding a child can present many challenges
The Spanish investigation presented in Denmark took place between February 2020 and October 2022. The scientists recruited 45 men for the study who attended six reproductive clinics in different parts of Spain.. All had a confirmed diagnosis of mild COVID, and the clinics had data from analyzes of semen samples taken before the men were infected. Another seed sample was taken between days 17 and 516 post-infection.
The average age of the men studied was 31 years and the time span between the pre- and post-coronavirus samples was 238 days. Researchers analyzed all samples taken up to 100 days after infection and then analyzed a subset of samples taken more than 100 days later. In half of the men, total sperm counts were 57% lower after infection compared to samples taken before they became infected with COVID-19. However, sperm morphology did not differ significantly.
According to the results of the study A statistically significant difference in semen volume was observed (20% less than 2.5 to 2 milliliters).; sperm concentration (26.5% less than 68 to 50 million per ml of ejaculate); the number of sperm per ml (37.5% less than 160 to 100 million per ml of semen); overall motility, the ability to move (9.1% down, from 49% to 45%); active mobility, ie moveable forward (14.6% less, from 41% to 35%); and the number of live sperm (5% down, from 80% to 76%).
“Some type of study that isn’t that is always suggested, this study is retrospective, which means they looked at it and then analyzed the results.” The ideal is to do prospective studies and say, ‘Now let’s do it that thing and after a while we’ll look at it again to see if it’s real.” And the sample of 45 men in science, especially in those subjects, is very, very small. Ten times more would have to be used, at least 450″, concluded Neuspiller.
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