SCMP | Doctors in the central Chinese city of Wuhan plan to embark on a long-term study of
the effects of the coronavirus on the male reproductive system, building on small-scale research
indicating that the pathogen could affect sex hormone levels in men.
Though
still preliminary and not peer reviewed, the study is the first
clinical observation of the potential impact of Covid-19, the disease
caused by the coronavirus, on the male reproductive system, especially
among younger groups.
In a paper published on the preprint research platform medRxiv.org,
the researchers – from Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University and the
Hubei Clinical Research Centre for Prenatal Diagnosis and Birth Health –
said they analysed blood samples from 81 men aged 20 to 54 who tested
positive for the coronavirus and were hospitalised in January.
The
median age of the participants was 38 and roughly 90 per cent of them
had only mild symptoms. The samples were collected in the last days of
their stay in hospital.
Using
the samples, the team looked at the ratio of testosterone to
luteinising hormone (T/LH). A low T/LH ratio can be a sign of
hypogonadism, which in men is a malfunction of the testicles that could
lead to lower sex hormone production.
The average ratio for the Covid-19 patients was 0.74, about half the normal level.
Testosterone is the main male sex hormone critical for the development
of primary and secondary sexual characteristics including testes,
muscle, bone mass and body hair. Luteinising hormone is found in both
men and women, and best known for its ability to trigger ovulation.
