SynthesisPloS one2024
SARS-CoV-2 impairs male fertility by targeting semen quality and testosterone level: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in PloS one, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- A systematic review and meta-analysis of the impact of triclosan exposure on human semen quality.Frontiers in toxicology · 2024Pooled it
- Spatial localization of avian and human influenza A virus receptors in male and female bovine reproductive tissues.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Understanding the Secular Decline in Testosterone: Mechanisms, Consequences, and Clinical Perspectives.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Exploring the knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions of young men towards fertility in the UK: A cross-sectional survey.PloS one · 2026Article
- Ureaplasma urealyticum upregulates seminal fluid leukocytes and lowers human semen quality: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Basic and clinical andrology · 2025Review
- Ambient climatic conditions and semen quality: a comparative analysis across the periods before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2025Article
- Prolactin Role in COVID-19 and Its Association with the Underlying Inflammatory Response.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Article
- Editorial: Environmental threats to human reproduction.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSince the discovery of COVID-19 in December 2019, the novel virus has spread globally causing significant medical and socio-economic burden. Although the pandemic has been curtailed, the virus and its attendant complication live on. A major global concern is its adverse impact on male fertility.
aimThis study was aimed to give an up to date and robust data regarding the effect of COVID-19 on semen variables and male reproductive hormones. MATERIALS AND
methodsLiterature search was performed according to the recommendations of PRISMA. Out of the 852 studies collected, only 40 were eligible for inclusion in assessing the effect SARS-CoV-2 exerts on semen quality and androgens. More so, a SWOT analysis was conducted.
resultsThe present study demonstrated that SARS-CoV-2 significantly reduced ejaculate volume, sperm count, concentration, viability, normal morphology, and total and progressive motility. Furthermore, SARS-CoV-2 led to a reduction in circulating testosterone level, but a rise in oestrogen, prolactin, and luteinizing hormone levels. These findings were associated with a decline in testosterone/luteinizing hormone ratio.
conclusionsThe current study provides compelling evidence that SARS-CoV-2 may lower male fertility by reducing semen quality through a hormone-dependent mechanism; reduction in testosterone level and increase in oestrogen and prolactin levels.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.