ArticleTranslational andrology and urology2025
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.
Article in Translational andrology and urology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: An association between the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and a reduction in male semen parameters has been described, but no large-scale population analyses have been conducted. This study aimed to investigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on semen quality. Based on a large-scale ecological comparative study, our study analyzed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on semen quality after the national liberalization of restrictions in China at the end of 2022, aiming to explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on semen quality, and provide a basis for the study of the impact of subsequent epidemics on male reproduction as well as clinical diagnosis and treatment. Methods: It is a population-based cross-sectional study. This comparative study was based on the nationwide loosening of COVID-19 curbs in China on December 7, 2022, 1 month after which, an 89% infection rate was reported in Henan Province, China. We compared semen quality and serum hormone levels from January 7, 2023 to April 30, 2023 and January 7, 2022 to April 30, 2022 at the Reproductive Center of Henan Provincial People's Hospital. Results: Our results indicated a significant decrease in semen volume, sperm concentration, total sperm count, progressive sperm motility rate, and non-progressive sperm motility rate following the nationwide relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions. The effects on the semen volume and total sperm count persisted over time. Additionally, an increase in the incidence of sperm neck defects has been reported. Infection also led to hormonal disruptions, including alterations in prolactin (PRL), testosterone (T), sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), and the free testosterone index (FTI) along with an increase in osteocalcin and 25-hydroxy vitamin D (25-OH-VD). Conclusions: The present study revealed that mild COVID-19 appears to have a detrimental effect on semen quality.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.