SARS-CoV-2 and reproductive system: a scientometric study

Growing evidence, such as Long COVID, suggests that the interaction and underlying mechanism between SARS-CoV-2 and human cells, especially the long-term effect on the reproductive system, remain poorly understood, which should raise high public health concern. This study aimed to enhance understanding of the scientific development status in this field of the viral infection and the human genital system, and to explore key hotspots, thematic trends, major issues through a scientometric analysis of the relevant literature.

This study retrieved the literature (2020-2025) on association between SARS-CoV-2 and the genital system from three databases, Web of Science Core Collection (WOSCC), Scopus, and PubMed, and performed comprehensive scientometric analysis of the literature to explore the bibliometric distribution, thematic trends and the major problems in this area using Bibliometrix/BiblioShiny.

A total of 2,354 publications from 2020 to 2025 were included in the analysis. The annual production of the publications has shown a declining trend since 2022, and is predicted to reach nearly zero by 2030. The most relevant journal was Mathematical Biosciences and Engineering. Wang X. and Wang Y. were the most prolific authors. China and the USA had the highest production of documents, while Sweden and Portugal had the highest average article citations. The most global cited document was "Cytokine Storm" (Fajgenbaum D, 2020, New Engl J Med). The most frequent keywords were covid-19, human, sars-cov-2, cell proliferation, pandemic, and basic reproduction number. Etiology, antigen presentation and sperm viability have been the newly emerging trend topics since 2025. A thematic map shows that the cluster of the keywords closely related to the impact of SARS-CoV-2 on reproductive system was located in the lower left quadrant, indicating that the themes associated with these keywords appeared early but remain underdeveloped. The USA, China, Italy and Germany conducted the most research collaborations, while most African, Latin American, and Asian countries were rarely involved.

This report provides comprehensive insights, including the latest macroscopic perspectives, references, and practical guidance, for shaping research strategies, managing public health resources, and fostering scientific collaborations, featuring novel viewpoints that merit attention in the field.