Human papillomavirus in semen and the risk for male infertility: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

BackgroundHuman papillomavirus (HPV) is one of the most prevalent sexually transmitted viruses. Despite the increasing evidence of HPV prevalence in semen, the worldwide distribution of HPV types in semen and risk for male infertility remain inconclusive.MethodsFour electronic databases were searched for English language studies conducted between January 1990 and December 2016 that reported HPV DNA prevalence in semen. Based on the PRISMA guidelines, HPV prevalence was estimated among general population and fertility clinic attendees, respectively, and heterogeneity testing was performed using Cochran’s Q and I 2 statistics. The association between HPV positivity and male infertility was evaluated by a meta-analysis of case-control studies.ResultsA total of 31 eligible studies comprising 5194 males were included. The overall prevalence of HPV DNA in semen was 11.4% (95% CI = 7.8-15.0%) in general population (n = 2122) and 20.4% (95% CI = 16.2-24.6%) in fertility clinic attendees (n = 3072). High-risk type prevalence was 10.0% (95% CI = 5.9-14.0%) and 15.5% (95% CI = 11.4-19.7%), respectively. HPV16 was the most common type, with a prevalence of 4.8% (95% CI = 1.7-7.8%) in general population and 6.0% (95% CI = 3.8-8.2%) in fertility clinic attendees. A significantly increased risk of infertility was found for males with HPV positivity in semen (OR = 2.93, 95% CI = 2.03-4.24).ConclusionsSeminal HPV infection is common worldwide, which may contribute to the risk of male infertility.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12879-017-2812-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

HPV Infections in Heterosexual Couples: Mechanisms and Covariates of Virus Transmission

“…The role of the father and other caregivers as a transmitter is not clear. Semen may be a vector for HPV transmission, as well [41-43]. …”

Human papillomavirus infection and female infertility: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Although previous meta-analyses have established an association between HPV infection and both male infertility (Lyu et al, 2017) and the outcomes of natural or IVF/ICSI pregnancies (Siristatidis et al, 2018;Xiong et al, 2018), little is known regarding its role in female infertility. This is thought to be the first meta-analysis of studies comparing the prevalence of HPV infection in the infertile and general female population.…”

Semen quality is affected by HLA class I alleles together with sexually transmitted diseases

“…Concerning HLA‐DQB1*03:01 allele, identified as a risk factor for OLI, previous studies showed conflicting results: Whereas in chronic hepatitis, this allele has been correlated in some instances with HCV clearance (Huang et al ., ; Thio et al ., ; El‐Bendary et al ., ), other authors have reported a link between HLA‐DQB1*03:01 and HPV6 infection (Chen et al ., ). Notably, this HPV subtype, despite being considered as low risk for cervical cancer, is established to cause genital lesions and to be found in the semen (Lyu et al ., ; Flores‐Díaz et al ., ). In our cohort, no association of HLA‐DQB1*03:01 with HPV was not detected.…”