{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,31]],"date-time":"2026-03-31T05:47:50Z","timestamp":1774936070663,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":15,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,31]],"date-time":"2026-03-31T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1774915200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Endocrinol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Objective<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>To investigate the longitudinal changes and temporal patterns of reproductive, thyroid, and adrenal hormones in young males following SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.2 infection, using a 3-month post-infection convalescent reference point.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A prospective cohort of 71 young male university students with confirmed Omicron BA.2 infection was followed for 24 months. Fasting blood samples were collected at 3 (early convalescent reference), 6, 12, and 24 months post-infection. Serum levels of 15 hormones across the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG), thyroid (HPT), and adrenal (HPA) axes were measured. Linear mixed-effects models were utilized to assess longitudinal changes over time. Persistent symptoms were recorded at each visit.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>At the 3-month post-infection convalescent reference point, 8 of 71 participants (11.3%) reported mild persistent symptoms, which decreased to 4.3% by 24 months. Testosterone remained stable throughout the follow-up (all P &amp;gt; 0.05). Relative to the 3-month reference, prolactin declined progressively from an initially elevated mean of 22.55 ng\/mL to 14.73 ng\/mL at 24 months, gradually normalizing within the clinical reference range (4.04\u201315.2 ng\/mL). Estradiol decreased at all follow-up points (P &amp;lt; 0.0001), while FSH and TSH demonstrated continuous, progressive increases (P &amp;lt; 0.001). TT4 and FT4 showed biphasic fluctuations. Adrenal markers (ACTH, cortisol) generally declined after 6 months (P &amp;lt; 0.0001). Ultimately, most mean hormone values remained within normal clinical reference ranges.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Among young males, testosterone remained robustly stable over two years following Omicron BA.2 infection, while other endocrine markers displayed measurable longitudinal dynamics relative to the 3-month post-infection convalescent reference point. These findings highlight temporal post-infection patterns rather than definitive endocrine injury. While routine extensive endocrine screening may not be necessary for asymptomatic young males, targeted evaluation is recommended for individuals with persistent symptoms.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fendo.2026.1788453","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,31]],"date-time":"2026-03-31T04:10:47Z","timestamp":1774930247000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Long-term trajectories of reproductive and pituitary-adrenal-thyroid hormones in young males following Omicron BA.2 infection: a two-year prospective cohort study"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Fengzhi","family":"Li","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Air Force Medical Center","place":["Beijing, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Yijin","family":"Zan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, The Fifth People\u2019s Hospital of Datong","place":["Datong, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Kun","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Air Force Medical Center","place":["Beijing, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Fan","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Air Force Medical Center","place":["Beijing, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Bingxin","family":"Si","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Healthcare and Diagnostics, Air Force Medical Center","place":["Beijing, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Lela","family":"Lin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Air Force Medical Center","place":["Beijing, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jing","family":"Guo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Air Force Medical Center","place":["Beijing, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Qingling","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Air Force Medical Center","place":["Beijing, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Dong","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Air Force Medical Center","place":["Beijing, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Xianrong","family":"Xu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Vertigo Center, Air Force Medical Center","place":["Beijing, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,31]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/jmv.27611","article-title":"Transmission dynamics and mutational prevalence of the novel Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 Omicron Variant of Concern","volume":"94","author":"Saxena","year":"2022","journal-title":"J Med Virol"},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jmii.2022.03.007","article-title":"Challenges of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Variant and appropriate countermeasures","volume":"55","author":"Shao","year":"2022","journal-title":"J Microbiol Immunol 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