Usage of mobile health interventions among overweight/obese PCOS patients undergoing assisted reproductive technology treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objective: In the context of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, telemedicine is a promising tool for providing clinical care for patients. Since the first-line treatment for infertile women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is lifestyle modification, a mobile-based service that provides lifestyle modification education would be helpful in the treatment of PCOS patients. In this observational study, the effect of a mobile Health (mHealth) application for lifestyle modification on PCOS patients undergoing assisted reproductive technology (ART) treatment was evaluated.Methods: A total of 79 overweight/obese patients (40 in the paper group and 39 in the WeChat application group) with PCOS from the First Affiliated Hospital of University of Science and Technology of China were enrolled in the study. The changes in the outcomes of BMI and ART treatment were analyzed between the two groups.Results: After three months of intervention, the BMIs in the control and mHealth groups were 24.5 ± 3.3 and 23.7 ± 3.1, respectively. The percentage of patients who lost weight was higher in the WeChat group than in the control group (87.2% vs. 67.5%). Furthermore, PCOS patients in the WeChat group were found to have a higher live birth rate than those in the control group (p = 0.005).Conclusion: Lifestyle modifications for PCOS patients undergoing ART treatment using the WeChat application improved weight loss and oocyte quality. Infertile patients with PCOS were more likely to make lifestyle modifications based on the usage of mobile applications during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sexually transmitted infections and semen quality from subfertile men with and without leukocytospermia.

BACKGROUND: The role of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in semen parameters and male infertility is still a controversial area. Previous studies have found bacterial infection in a minority of infertile leukocytospermic males. This study aims to investigate the prevalence of STIs in semen from subfertile men with leukocytospermia (LCS) and without leukocytospermia (non-LCS) and their associations with sperm quality. METHODS: Semen samples were collected from 195 men who asked for a fertility evaluation. Infection with the above 6 pathogens was assessed in each sample. Sperm quality was compared in subfertile men with and without LCS. RESULTS: The LCS group had significantly decreased semen volume, sperm concentration, progressive motility, total motility and normal morphology. The infection rates of Ureaplasma urealyticum (Uuu), Ureaplasma parvum (Uup), Mycoplasma hominis (MH), Mycoplasma genitalium (MG), Chlamydia trachomatis (CT), herpes simplex virus-2 (HSV-2) and Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) were 8.7 %, 21.0 %, 8.2 %, 2.1 %, 3.6 %, 1.0 and 0 %, respectively. The STI detection rates of patients with LCS were higher than those of the non-LCS group (52.3 % vs. 39.3 %), although there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups (P = 0.07). All semen parameters were not significantly different between LCS with STIs and without STIs, except the semen volume in the MG-infected patients with LCS was significantly lower than that in the noninfected group. CONCLUSIONS: LCS was associated with a reduction in semen quality, but was not associated with STIs.

Semen parameters in men recovered from COVID-19.

The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic is emerging as a global health threat and shows a higher risk for men than women. Thus far, the studies on andrological consequences of COVID-19 are limited. To ascertain the consequences of COVID-19 on sperm parameters after recovery, we recruited 41 reproductive-aged male patients who had recovered from COVID-19, and analyzed their semen parameters and serum sex hormones at a median time of 56 days after hospital discharge. For longitudinal analysis, a second sampling was obtained from 22 of the 41 patients after a median time interval of 29 days from first sampling. Compared with controls who had not suffered from COVID-19, the total sperm count, sperm concentration, and percentages of motile and progressively motile spermatozoa in the patients were significantly lower at first sampling, while sperm vitality and morphology were not affected. The total sperm count, sperm concentration, and number of motile spermatozoa per ejaculate were significantly increased and the percentage of morphologically abnormal sperm was reduced at the second sampling compared with those at first in the 22 patients examined. Though there were higher prolactin and lower progesterone levels in patients at first sampling than those in controls, no significant alterations were detected for any sex hormones examined over time following COVID-19 recovery in the 22 patients. Although it should be interpreted carefully, these findings indicate an adverse but potentially reversible consequence of COVID-19 on sperm quality.