Sperm Count, Motility May Be Low for Months After COVID-19

Sperm quality is impaired for months in some men after recovery from COVID-19, researchers have found.

They studied semen samples obtained from 120 Belgian men with an average age of 35 years, at an average of 52 days after COVID-19 symptoms had resolved.

The semen itself was not infectious, the researchers found.

But among 35 men who provided samples within a month after infection, reductions in sperm motility were evident in 60% and sperm counts were reduced in 37%, according to a report in Fertility and Sterility.

Among 51 men tested between one and two months after recovery, 37% had reduced sperm motility and 29% had low sperm counts. And among 34 men who provided semen samples at least two months after recovery, sperm motility was impaired in 28% and sperm counts were low in 6%.

The severity of COVID-19 infection was not correlated with sperm characteristics.

“Couples with a desire for pregnancy should be warned that sperm quality after COVID-19 infection can be suboptimal,” the researchers concluded. “The estimated recovery time is 3 months, but further follow-up studies are under way to confirm this and to determine if permanent damage occurred in a minority of men.”

https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/965226?src=soc_fb_220118_mscpedt_news_mdscp_sperm&faf=1

Créditos: Comité científico Covid