Could SARS-CoV-2 infection affect male fertility and sexuality?

Abstract

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the cause of coronavirus infectious disease (COVID-19) and has rapidly spread worldwide, causing serious problems to the healthcare systems of many countries and hundreds of thousand deaths. In this review we discuss data from the literature to understand whether the various districts of the male reproductive system may represent another vulnerable target for SARS-CoV-2. Studies were searched from electronic databases such as Google Scholar, PubMed, Scopus, and COVID-19 specific databases such as LitCovid, until July 31, 2021. It appears that SARS-CoV-2 virus infection not only causes damage to the respiratory system, but could have a serious impact on the reproductive system of male patients modulating many physiological processes. Like some other infections, SARS-CoV-2 also leads to a worsening of semen quality and an increase in oxidative stress (OS) levels. However, due to the limited number of studies, it is unclear whether this deterioration in semen parameters is temporary or lasts over time. It is certainly important that patients' reproductive function is monitored after coronavirus infection to avoid problems in reproductive health in the future.

Keywords: Angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (ACE-2); SARS-CoV-2; TMPRSS-2; erectile dysfunction; male infertility.