Prevalence of comorbidities and its effects in patients infected with SARS-CoV-2: a systematic review and meta-analysis

• Published in: International journal of infectious diseases Vol. 94; pp. 91 - 95
• Main Authors: Yang, Jing, Zheng, Ya, Gou, Xi, Pu, Ke, Chen, Zhaofeng, Guo, Qinghong, Ji, Rui, Wang, Haojia, Wang, Yuping, Zhou, Yongning
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Canada Elsevier Ltd 01-05-2020; The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of International Society for Infectious Diseases; Elsevier
• Subjects: Betacoronavirus; Clinical characteristics; Comorbidities; Comorbidity; Coronavirus Infections - epidemiology; Cough; COVID-19; Epidemiology; Fever - etiology; Humans; Meta-analysis; Pandemics; Pneumonia, Viral - epidemiology; Prevalence; Risk Factors; SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19; Clinical characteristics; SARS-CoV-2; Comorbidities; Epidemiology; Meta-analysis
• ISSN: 1201-9712; 1878-3511
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijid.2020.03.017

•COVID -19 cases are now confirmed in multiple countries.•Assessed the prevalence of comorbidities in infected patients.•Comorbidities are risk factors for severe compared with non-severe patients.•Help the health sector guide vulnerable populations and assess the risk of deterioration.
An outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) occurred in Wuhan, China; the epidemic is more widespread than initially estimated, with cases now confirmed in multiple countries.
The aim of this meta-analysis was to assess the prevalence of comorbidities in the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infected patients and the risk of underlying diseases in severe patients compared to non-severe patients.
A literature search was conducted using the databases PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science through February 25, 2020. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were pooled using random-effects models.
Seven studies were included in the meta-analysis, including 1 576 infected patients. The results showed the most prevalent clinical symptom was fever (91.3%, 95% CI: 86–97%), followed by cough (67.7%, 95% CI: 59–76%), fatigue (51.0%, 95% CI: 34–68%) and dyspnea (30.4%, 95% CI: 21–40%). The most prevalent comorbidities were hypertension (21.1%, 95% CI: 13.0–27.2%) and diabetes (9.7%, 95% CI: 7.2–12.2%), followed by cardiovascular disease (8.4%, 95% CI: 3.8–13.8%) and respiratory system disease (1.5%, 95% CI: 0.9–2.1%). When compared between severe and non-severe patients, the pooled OR of hypertension, respiratory system disease, and cardiovascular disease were 2.36 (95% CI: 1.46–3.83), 2.46 (95% CI: 1.76–3.44) and 3.42 (95% CI: 1.88–6.22) respectively.
We assessed the prevalence of comorbidities in the COVID-19 patients and found that underlying disease, including hypertension, respiratory system disease and cardiovascular disease, may be risk factors for severe patients compared with non-severe patients.