Coronavirus may cause infertility among men especially those who had moderate or serious Covid-19 infections, according to a doctor.
Israeli physician Dr. Dan Aderka presented his findings after studying published literature on the link between Covid-19 and sperm quality.
Aderka, head of the GI Cancer Service and GI Cancer Biology and Immunotherapy Program at Sheba Medical Center, said he plans to hold a study of his own.
Moreover, he explained that his analysis of over 40 studies from different countries indicates that the number of sperm per milliliter, total volume of ejaculate, and motility of sperm dropped by an average of 50 percent in men tested a month following Covid-19 diagnosis. Meanwhile, coronavirus does not cause infertility in men with mild infection.
“We don’t know yet if these effects of Covid-19 are reversible,” Aderka said. However, other coronaviruses have been known to cause male infertility. For example, mumps can lead to testicular atrophy and a decline in sperm count in an estimated 1 in 10 men who are infected.
Testicular changes have been observed. A study in China about men who died from Covid-19 revealed damage to two types of cells in the testes that play a role in sperm production. Aderka pointed out that the number of men who suffer physical harm to the testes from Covid-19 remains unknown.
Based on the literature Aderka studied, the virus is detected in the sperm of 13% of male patients with the disease and in 8.6% of those recuperating. These issues appear to be gone a month later. Covid-19 cannot be transmitted sexually, according to Aderka.
Aderka, a professor at Tel Aviv University, will submit his analysis of the literature on the subject for peer review. He will be conducting a prospective study on coronavirus patients in Israel as well.
Lack of sleep
Another factor that can affect the health of sperm is sleeping habit. Research from Aarhus University in Denmark showed that men produce healthy sperm and have higher chances of conceiving when they go to bed earlier.
Researchers found that men who sleep at 10:30 PM were up to four times more likely to have healthy sperm. These males are 2.75 times more likely to have healthy sperm than men who went to bed between half past 10 and half past 11.
Moreover, men who were able to sleep eight hours a night were more likely to produce high-quality sperm than those who had a record of less than seven. Men who recorded less than seven hours sleep a night were as much as six times more likely to have poor quality sperm.
Fertility experts encourage couples who want to conceive to avoid distractions that keep them at night, such as emails and watching Netflix.
The study’s results were based on the sleep patterns of 100 male volunteers who were participating in fertility clinics in Denmark. Forty-eight of these participants had healthy sperm and 56 with low-quality sperm.
Sleep is a factor in moderating hormones that are related to fertility. Meanwhile, sleep deprivation stress can trigger the immune system, which may overreact and attack sperm.
“These were men who had been trying to have a baby for about two years and an early bedtime was likely to be important because it allowed them to get more sleep,” said Professor Hans Jakob Ingerslev, co-author of the study from Aarhus University.
“The reasons could be psychological as sleep-deprived men suffer mores stress and that can have an impact on fertility.”
