Covid damages sperm maybe even permanently. The news comes from a study presented at the congress of Ashrethe European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology taking place in Copenhagen. The infection caused by Sars-CoV-2 affects the number and quality of sperm. The situation is also compromised when the disease has had mild symptoms and months after the negativity.
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Covid damages sperm: more than halved in number and motility
We know that the male seed is renewed every 78 days. The fact that the damage was also detected many weeks after healing suggests that the damage may even be permanent or in any case long-term. About 50% of the samples analyzed three months after the negative swab, the amount of sperm was 57% lower than that performed before catching Covid.
Even mild symptoms are enough
One studio presented last year at the congress of Italian Society of Andrology argued that the severity of symptoms was directly proportional to the problems with sperm mobility. In practice, the more serious the disease, the lower the quality of the semen. The new study says instead that even in cases of mild pathology there is significant damage.
Covid damages sperm: Spanish research
Researchers from the UR International Group at the Madrid Scientific Unit of Reproduction in Spain put 45 men with an average age of 31 years under the magnifying glass. All were patients of Spanish reproductive clinics, who had had Covid with mild symptoms and who had had their sperm quantity and quality tested before the infection. Experts retested all participants for semen testing just over three months after recovery and eight months later.
The results of the study
The analysis of the first samples gave clear results:
20% decrease in sperm volume, 26.5% decrease in concentration, 37.5% decrease in number, – 9.1% overall motility, – 5% live sperm count.
Covid damages sperm: the hypothesis is that it affects testosterone
In analyzes done after 100 daysthen 22 days after sperm renewal, the researchers didn’t notice any substantial improvements of this data, despite the fact that the suit was completely changed.
The Spanish study did not explain with certainty why this happens. As we have already said, other studies had underlined how Covid affects male fertility. One hypothesis holds that the infection causes major changes in the testosteronethe male hormone par excellence, essential in male reproductive health.