Comorbidities in COVID-19, a systematic review, and meta-analysis

Updated: Apr 6, 2020

Quality of evidence: B +

Authors: Yang J et al

Journal: International Journal of Infectious Disease

Objectives: Assess the prevalence of comorbidities and the risk of underlying diseases insevere patients versus non-severe patients

Strength of evidence: Moderate (meta-analysis but low-quality studies available and pre=proof)

Methods/publication type:

Systematic review and meta-analysis
PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of sciences as of February 25, 2020
Risk ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were pooled using random-effects models
8 studies, 46,248 patients

Highlights :

The most prevalent symptom was fever ( 91±3, 95%CI 86-97% ), then cough (67±7, 95% CI 59-76%), fatigue ( 51±0,95% CI34-68% ) and dyspnea ( 30±4, 95% CI 21-40%).
The most prevalent comorbidities were hypertension (17±7, 95% CI 14-22%) and diabetes (8±6, 95% CI6-11%), cardiovascular diseases (5±4, 95% CI4-7%) and respiratory system disease (2±0, 95% CI1-3%).
Pooled odds ratio of hypertension, respiratory system disease, cardiovascular disease in severe patients = OR 2.36, 95% CI: 1.46-3.83 ,OR 2.46, 95% CI: 1.76-3.44 and OR3.42, 95% CI: 1.88-6.22, higher than non-severe
Underlying disease, including hypertension, respiratory system disease and cardiometabolic diseases, may be risk factors for severe patients versus Non-severe patients