Evaluation of sex‐related hormones and semen characteristics in reproductive‐aged male COVID‐19 patients

• Published in: Journal of medical virology Vol. 93; no. 1; pp. 456 - 462
• Main Authors: Ma, Ling, Xie, Wen, Li, Danyang, Shi, Lei, Ye, Guangming, Mao, Yanhong, Xiong, Yao, Sun, Hui, Zheng, Fang, Chen, Zhimin, Qin, Jyuling, Lyu, Jing, Zhang, Yuanzhen, Zhang, Ming
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.01.2021; John Wiley and Sons Inc
• Subjects: Adult; Coronaviridae; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; COVID-19 - complications; Evaluation; Gonadal Steroid Hormones - analysis; Gonadal Steroid Hormones - blood; Hormones; Humans; Infections; Leukocytes; Luteinizing hormone; Male; male gonadal function; Men; Middle Aged; Multiple regression analysis; Organs; Pandemics; Respiratory diseases; SARS‐CoV‐2; Semen; Semen - chemistry; Semen Analysis; Severe acute respiratory syndrome; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Sex hormones; sex‐related hormones; Testosterone; Testosterone - blood; Viral diseases; Virology; Viruses; Young Adult; COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; sex-related hormones; semen analysis; male gonadal function
• ISSN: 0146-6615; 1096-9071; 1096-9071
• DOI: 10.1002/jmv.26259

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. Highlights Sex‐hormone levels were evaluated in reproductive‐aged male COVID‐19 patients. Semen assessment was performed in recovering male COVID‐19 patients. No SARS‐CoV‐2 virus was found in semen from recovering COVID‐19 patients.