Effects of underlying morbidities on the occurrence of deaths in COVID-19 patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 , the most hectic pandemic of the era, is increasing exponentially and taking thousands of lives worldwide. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of pre-existing morbidities among COVID-19 infected patients and their mortality risks against each type of pre-existing morbidity category. Methods:To conduct this systematic review and meta-analysis, Medline, Web of Science, Scopus, and CINAHL databases were searched using specified relavent keywords. Further searches were conducted using the reference list of the selected studies, renowned pre-print servers (e.g., medRxiv, bioRixv, SSRN), and relevant journal websites. Studies written in the English language included if those were conducted among COVID-19 patients with and without comorbidities and presented survivor vs. non-survivor counts or hazard/odds of deaths or survivors against types of pre-existing morbidities. Comorbidities reported in the selected studies were grouped into eight categories. The pooled likelihoods of deaths in each category were estimated using a fixed or random-effect model, based on the heterogeneity assessment. Publication bias was assessed by visual inspection of the funnel plot asymmetry and Egger's regression test. Trim and Fill method was used if there any publication bias was found.

Characteristics Associated With Racial/Ethnic Disparities in COVID-19 Outcomes in an Academic Health Care System

“…health conditions, such as obesity, cancer, type 2 diabetes, and renal conditions, were prevalent among patients with worse COVID-19 outcomes. 34,45,46,55 Notably, our findings largely agree with recent published work examining racial/ethnic differences in COVID-19 outcomes, which found Black patients had a higher hospitalization rate, 8 increased odds of positive test results, 12…”

COVID-19 Case Fatality Rate: Misapprehended Calculations

“…Likewise, a mortality rate of 19.5% (38,812/198,879) had been reported in patients with pre-existing illness whereas only 1.6% (1,431/88,441) of COVID-19 patients with no preexisting health illness have died 19 . Similar higher mortality rate of 42.5% (7558/36398) among the COVID-19 patients with pre-existing illness has also been reported by Khan and his colleagues in their systematic review on COVID-19 patients 20 . These results vividly illustrate that the patients are dying due to pre-existing conditions rather than COVID-19.…”

Asthma and COVID-19: What do we know now

“… 5 , 6 This was reciprocated in a systematic review of n = 12 760 individuals by Khan et al., which found 1.4% (n = 355) of their COVID-19 positive cohort had asthma as a comorbidity. 7 Other studies worldwide have demonstrated an increased prevalence of asthma in COVID-positive individuals and have suggested that the lower prevalence of asthma reported within some studies could be attributed to underreporting, underdiagnosis or poor recognition of chronic respiratory disease in patients with COVID-19 infection. 8 Additionally, another explanation for the differing rates of comorbid asthma seen among studies may be due to the overall differences in rates of comorbidities including asthma in different countries.…”