Table 2.
Available literature investigating SARS-CoV-2 infection on semen quality
| Reference | Study design | Cohort (n) | Control (n) | Semen quality | Other findings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 43 | Cross-sectional case-controlled study | Recovering COVID-19 inpatients (23); autopsied testicular and epididymal specimens (6) | Age-matched controls for inpatients (23); age-matched controls for autopsies (6) | Decreased sperm concentration compared to controls; in the recovering patients, 39.1% had oligozoospermia and 60.9% had increased leucocytes; increased seminal levels of IL-6, TNF-α, and MCP-1 compared to control | Autopsied testicular and epididymal samples showed oedema, congestion and exudation of erythrocytes; thinning of seminiferous tubules and increased number of seminiferous apoptotic cells was observed in the autopsied testes; increased concentration of CD3+ and CD68+ in the interstitial cells of testicular tissue and the presence of IgG within seminiferous tubules of autopsied testes. |
| 44 | Case-controlled longitudinal study | COVID-19 recovering patients (84) | Healthy men (105) | Significant impairments in semen volume, sperm concentration progressive motility, sperm morphology compared to control; significantly higher levels of seminal plasma ACE2 enzymatic activity, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, TGF-β, TNF-α, IFN-α, IFN-γ, ROS, caspase-8, caspase-9, and caspase-3 activity and lower levels of SOD activity compared to control group. | – |