COVID-19 and Erectile Dysfunction

Abstract

Background: The SARS-CoV-2 virus displays a strong impact on the respiratory, digestive, and reproductive systems, and has led to questions about long-term effects. Erectile dysfunction is the inability for a male to achieve or sustain an erection during sexual intercourse, and commonly develops in men due to both physiological and psychologic factors. SARS-CoV-2 can affect the vasculature that surrounds endothelial tissue and thus has raised the question of a possible relationship between SARS-CoV-2 infection and erectile dysfunction (ED). Thus far, no studies have established a relationship between COVID-19 and ED. In this review, we analyze current available data and summarize the concepts regarding the current known relationship between COVID-19 and ED. Such a study might be helpful for urologists and andrologists to manage patients with ED and a history off COVID-19 infection. Methods: A systematic review was used to analyze the relationship between COVID-19 and ED. A literature search on three databases, Google Scholar, PubMed, and ResearchGate was conducted. Search terms used were COVID-19, erectile dysfunction, and SARS-CoV-2. All available studies were analyzed up to December 2021. Results: The COVID-19 pandemic led to a significant increase in male reproductive and sexual health diagnoses, including ED, with numbers showing that COVID-19 increases the chance of developing ED nearly sixfold. Physiological issues were also found in the reproductive system of men who had contracted COVID-19. For example, endothelial progenitor cells were much lower in patients positive with COVID-19 even when compared to men with severe ED who had never contracted COVID-19. However, it is still not clear how consistent it is to find SARS-CoV-2 in the reproductive system as one study showed only two out of five testes were positive for SARS-CoV-2 in the reproductive system and another study showed that there were only 3 out of 26 cases in which the SARS-CoV-2 spike existed in the endothelia of the blood-testis barrier, seminiferous tubules, and sperm of the epididymis. Conclusions: Many correlations can be made between COVID-19 and ED. However, future testing and research must be completed to determine a causal relationship between COVID-19 and ED.