ArticleThe world journal of men's health2023
Association between COVID-19 and Male Fertility: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies.
Article in The world journal of men's health, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Pooled it
- Sperm quality parameters of Swiss army recruits pre- and peri-COVID-19: a cross-sectional, comparative analysis.New microbes and new infections · 2026Article
- Modeling the effects of pandemics on physiology-related fertility decline in society.Frontiers in epidemiology · 2026Article
- Update on andrological effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19: An overview review.Andrology · 2025Review
- Changes in Age-Specific Pregnancy Prevalence Proportions over the Covid-19 Pandemic in Manicaland, Zimbabwe.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2025Article
- COVID-19 infection was associated with poor sperm quality: a cross-sectional and longitudinal clinical observation study.Scientific reports · 2025Observational
- Effect of SARS-CoV-2 infection on sperm telomere length.Journal of assisted reproduction and genetics · 2025Article
- A comparative study of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on semen quality based on a nationwide relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions in China at the end of 2022.Translational andrology and urology · 2025Article
- Article
- Zinc as a Possible Critical Element to Prevent Harmful Effects of COVID-19 on Testicular Function: a Narrative Review.Reproductive sciences (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) · 2024Review
- COVID-19 and Oncofertility: No SARS-CoV-2 in Semen but Inflammation Seems to Affect Sperm Parameters.Journal of medical virology · 2024Article
- Sperm quality and sexual function after the first COVID-19 infection during the omicron surge: an observational study in southwest China.Translational andrology and urology · 2024Article
- Does COVID-19 affect sperm quality in males? the answer may be yes, but only temporarily.Virology journal · 2024Article
- Effects of COVID-19 Infection on Spermatogenesis, Oxidative Stress and Erectile Function.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Article
- COVID-19 Vaccines and Assisted Reproductive Techniques: A Systematic Review.Journal of personalized medicine · 2023Review
- Possible mechanisms of spermatogenic dysfunction induced by viral infections: Insights from COVID-19.Reproductive medicine and biologyReview
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
purposeWhether COVID-19 reduces male fertility remains requires further investigation. This meta-analysis and systematic review evaluated the impact of COVID-19 on male fertility. MATERIALS AND
methodsThe literature in PubMed, Embase, MEDLINE, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library up to January 01, 2022 was systematically searched, and a meta-analysis was conducted to investigate the effect of COVID-19 on male fertility. Totally 17 studies with a total of 1,627 patients and 1,535 control subjects were included in our meta-analysis.
resultsRegarding sperm quality, COVID-19 decreased the total sperm count (p=0.012), sperm concentration (p=0.001), total motility (p=0.001), progressive sperm motility (p=0.048), and viability (p=0.031). Subgroup analyses showed that different control group populations did not change the results. It was found that during the illness stage of COVID-19, semen volume decreased, and during the recovery stage of COVID-19, sperm concentration and total motility decreased <90 days. We found that sperm concentration and total motility decreased during recovery for ≥90 days. Fever because of COVID-19 significantly reduced sperm concentration and progressive sperm motility, and COVID-19 without fever ≥90 days, the sperm total motility and progressive sperm motility decreased. Regarding disease severity, the moderate type of COVID-19 significantly reduced sperm total motility, but not the mild type. Regarding sex hormones, COVID-19 increased prolactin and estradiol. Subgroup analyses showed that during the illness stage, COVID-19 decreased testosterone (T) levels and increased luteinizing hormone levels. A potential publication bias may have existed in our meta-analysis.
conclusionsCOVID-19 in men significantly reduced sperm quality and caused sex hormone disruption. COVID-19 had long-term effects on sperm quality, especially on sperm concentration and total motility. It is critical to conduct larger multicenter studies to determine the consequences of COVID-19 on male fertility.
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