ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Reprod. Health
Sec. Andrology
Volume 7 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/frph.2025.1691216
Temporal Shifts in Semen Parameters Across a Major COVID-19 Outbreak Wave: A Retrospective Cohort Study Using Epidemiological Time-Windows
Provisionally accepted
- Wenzhou People’s Hospital, Wenzhou, China
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Objective: To investigate the temporal variations in male semen quality parameters before, during, and after a major regional COVID-19 outbreak wave. Methods: This retrospective cohort study analyzed initial semen samples collected at our hospital between June 1, 2022, and June 30, 2023. Based on regional epidemiological data corresponding to a major outbreak, participants were stratified into three groups by sample collection date: a pre-outbreak group (Group A, Sep 1, 2022–Dec 31, 2022, n=330), a peak-outbreak group (Group B, Jan 1, 2023–Mar 31, 2023, n=413), and a post-outbreak group (Group C, Apr 1, 2023–Jun 30, 2023, n=480). Conventional semen parameters, sperm acrosin activity, and sperm DNA fragmentation index (DFI) were compared. Results: The peak-outbreak group (Group B) showed significantly lower sperm concentration compared to both the pre-outbreak group (49.1 vs. 59.6 ×10⁶/mL, P=0.009) and the post-outbreak group (49.1 vs. 62.6 ×10⁶/mL, P<0.001). Similarly, progressive motility was significantly lower in the peak-outbreak group (37.7%) compared to the pre-outbreak (45.1%, P<0.001) and post-outbreak groups (43.4%, P<0.001). No significant differences were found in these parameters between the pre-outbreak and post-outbreak groups (P>0.05). Sperm acrosin activity and DFI remained stable across all three groups (P>0.05). Conclusion: Semen concentration and motility were significantly lower in samples collected during the peak of a major COVID-19 outbreak wave, with parameters returning to pre-outbreak levels in the subsequent 3-month period. Key sperm functional biomarkers, including acrosin activity and DNA integrity, appeared resilient throughout these distinct epidemiological phases.
Keywords: COVID-19, Semen quality, Conventional semen parameters, Sperm acrosin activity, DNA fragmentation index
Received: 23 Aug 2025; Accepted: 17 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wang, Zheng, Pan, Zheng and Xu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Zitong Xu, wrmszyckxzt@163.com
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