Distinct symptoms and underlying comorbidities with latitude and longitude in COVID-19: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is straining global health resources and the prevalence of severe disease appears to vary across countries. In accordance with PRISMA guidelines, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical features and underlying medical conditions of COVID-19. Eighty-seven studies, involving 1,434,931 COVID-19 patients from the Americas, Asia, Europe, and Oceania, were included. Geographically, the rate of severity was highest in Asia (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.23‒0.30). The rates of comorbidities of COVID-19 patients in the Americas were significantly higher than those in Asia. Most Asian patients had fever (95%CI 0.70‒0.81), and most Oceanian patients had cough (95%CI 0.68‒0.70) as their prevalent symptom. Dyspnea was common in the Americas (95%CI 0.33‒0.64), Europe (95%CI 0.29‒0.64), and high latitude regions (95%CI 0.53‒0.82). European patients exhibited significantly high rates of loss of smell and taste (95%CI 0.60-0.97). In low-latitude regions, cancer (95%CI 14.50‒4.89) had the strongest correlation with illness severity. Comorbid diseases and clinical manifestations of severe COVID-19 patients vary substantially between latitudes and longitudes. Region-specific care should be considered to treat and improve the prognosis of COVID-19 patients.

Alterations in microbiota of patients with COVID‐19: implications for therapeutic interventions

“…Probiotics deserve more attention in regulating gut microbiota, maintaining intestinal homeostasis and serving as an antiviral mechanism. [162][163][164] Studies of probiotic therapy as postexposure prophylaxis for COVID-19 also suggest a potential protective effect. One study included 182 participants with close exposure to COVID-19; it included a follow-up for analysis of symptoms and the fecal microbiome after 28 days of continuous probiotic supplementation.…”

Machine Learning-Based COVID-19 Patients Triage Algorithm Using Patient-Generated Health Data from Nationwide Multicenter Database

“…The data was collected from 1382 designated COVID-19 screening centers in South Korea. These centers consist of national safe hospitals (263), dedicated respiratory clinics (518), (15). The process of initial screening, transfer, admission to a hospital or community treatment center (CTC) is presented in Fig.…”

“…Previous studies revealed that the outbreaks of COVID-19 were associated with latitude, temperature, and humidity measurements, which reflects seasonal variation in the incidence of respiratory viruses [14,15]. Thus, geographic information of latitude and longitude have been integrated into our model.…”

Distinct Symptoms and Underlying Comorbidities with Latitude and Longitude in COVID-19: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…An earlier version of this manuscript [ 49 ] has been presented as preprint in Research Square according to the following link: https://www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-117666/v1 .…”