Evaluation of sex-related hormones and semen characteristics in reproductive-aged male COVID-19 patients.

TLDR: This study presents an abnormal sex hormone secretion among COVID‐19 patients, suggesting that attention should be paid to reproductive function evaluation in the follow-up, and compared the sex‐related hormone levels between 119 reproductive‐aged men with SARS‐CoV‐2 infection and 273 age‐matched control men.

Abstract: In the past several months, the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-associated infection (coronavirus disease 2019 [COVID-19]) developed rapidly and has turned into a global pandemic Although SARS-CoV-2 mainly attacks respiratory systems, manifestations of multiple organs have been observed A great concern was raised about whether COVID-19 may affect male reproductive functions In this study, we collected semen specimens from 12 male COVID-19 patients for virus detection and semen characteristics analysis No SARS-CoV-2 was found in semen specimens Eight out of 12 patients had normal semen quality We also compared the sex-related hormone levels between 119 reproductive-aged men with SARS-CoV-2 infection and 273 age-matched control men A higher serum luteinizing hormone (LH) and a lower ratio of testosterone (T) to LH were observed in the COVID-19 group Multiple regression analysis indicated that serum T: LH ratio was negatively associated with white blood cell counts and C-reactive protein levels in COVID-19 patients It's the first report about semen assessment and sex-hormone evaluation in reproductive-aged male COVID-19 patients Although further study is needed to clarify the reasons and underlying mechanisms, our study presents an abnormal sex hormone secretion among COVID-19 patients, suggesting that attention should be paid to reproductive function evaluation in the follow-up