Association Between SARS-COV-2 Infection and Sperm DNA Fragmentation: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

IF 2.4 3区医学 Q3 IMMUNOLOGY

American Journal of Reproductive Immunology Pub Date : 2025-08-19 DOI:10.1111/aji.70143

Zahra Asadi, Asad Vaisi-Raygani, Roya Safari-Faramani, Mahmoud Ghasemi, Faranak Aghaz

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Introduction

SARS-CoV-2 infection affects various sperm quality parameters. This study examines the impact of COVID-19 infection on sperm DNA fragmentation (SDF).

Methods

A systematic literature search was performed across four databases for studies published between January 1, 2019, and January 1, 2025. The inclusion criteria focused on studies evaluating sperm DNA fragmentation in healthy men infected with the virus. The risk of bias was assessed using the Newcastle–Ottawa scale (NOS). A meta-analysis was conducted using a random effects model based on the tests employed in the studies to measure SDF. Data were reported as weighted mean differences (WMD) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI). Out of 105 identified citations, seven articles were included in this analysis. The NOS results indicated that all studies were of high quality. Subgroup analysis revealed that all testing methods, including TUNEL, flow cytometry, and the sperm chromatin dispersion (SCD) test, demonstrated high heterogeneity, with the lowest heterogeneity found in the TUNEL test.

Results

The pooled analysis indicated a statistically significant increase in SDF (random effects model, WMD = 12.558, 95% CI: 4.482 to 20.635, I² = 99%, Z = 3.05, p < 0.0001). This meta-analysis suggests a statistically significant reduction in sperm DNA integrity 2–3 months following COVID-19 infection.

Conclusion

However, caution is warranted when interpreting these results due to the high heterogeneity, which may affect the outcomes. A thorough analysis considering participant characteristics and infection status is recommended.

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SARS-COV-2感染与精子DNA断裂的关系：系统综述和荟萃分析

SARS-CoV-2感染影响精子各项质量参数。本研究探讨了COVID-19感染对精子DNA片段化（SDF）的影响。方法系统检索2019年1月1日至2025年1月1日期间发表的4个数据库的文献。纳入标准侧重于评估感染该病毒的健康男性精子DNA断裂的研究。偏倚风险采用纽卡斯尔-渥太华量表（NOS）进行评估。采用随机效应模型对研究中采用的SDF测量方法进行meta分析。数据以加权平均差（WMD）和相应的95%置信区间（CI）报告。在105个确定的引用中，有7篇文章被纳入了本分析。NOS结果显示所有研究均为高质量。亚组分析显示，包括TUNEL、流式细胞术和精子染色质分散（SCD）检测在内的所有检测方法均表现出高度的异质性，TUNEL检测的异质性最低。结果合并分析显示，SDF增加有统计学意义（随机效应模型，WMD = 12.558, 95% CI: 4.482 ~ 20.635, I2 = 99%, Z = 3.05, p < 0.0001）。这项荟萃分析表明，在感染COVID-19后2-3个月，精子DNA完整性显著降低。然而，由于高度异质性，在解释这些结果时需要谨慎，这可能会影响结果。建议考虑参与者的特征和感染状况进行彻底的分析。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

American Journal of Reproductive Immunology 医学-免疫学

CiteScore

6.20

自引率

5.60%

发文量

314

审稿时长

2 months

期刊介绍： The American Journal of Reproductive Immunology is an international journal devoted to the presentation of current information in all areas relating to Reproductive Immunology. The journal is directed toward both the basic scientist and the clinician, covering the whole process of reproduction as affected by immunological processes. The journal covers a variety of subspecialty topics, including fertility immunology, pregnancy immunology, immunogenetics, mucosal immunology, immunocontraception, endometriosis, abortion, tumor immunology of the reproductive tract, autoantibodies, infectious disease of the reproductive tract, and technical news.