Abstract
AbstractBackgroundThe relationship between HIV infection and COVID-19 clinical outcome is uncertain, with conflicting data and hypotheses. We aimed to assess the prevalence and risk of severe COVID-19 and death in people living with HIV (PLWH) on the global and continental level.MethodsElectronic databases were systematically searched in July 2021. Studies were screened and then extracted following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Narratives were synthesised and data pooled for global and continental prevalence and relative risk of severity and mortality in HIV-infected COVID-19 patients using random-effect model. Risk of bias was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa score, Egger’s test and presented as funnel plots.ResultsA total of 46 studies were included involving 18,034,947 COVID-19 cases of which 31,269 were PLWH. The global prevalence of PLWH with SARS-CoV-2 infection was 1% (95% CI = 0.9% -1.1%) with the highest prevalence observed in sub-Saharan Africa. The relative risk (RR) of COVID-19 severity was significant only in Africa (RR, 95% CI = 1.14, 1.08 – 1.24) while risk of COVID-19 mortality was 1.53% (95% CI = 1.45 – 2.03) globally. The prevalence of PLWH in COVID-19 cases was significantly low, and the calculated global risk ratio show that HIV infection may be linked with increased COVID-19 death. The between-studies heterogeneity was significantly high while risk of publication bias was not significant.ConclusionThere is low prevalence of HIV-SARS-CoV-2 co-infection. HIV infection was linked with severe COVID-19 in Africa and increased risk of death globally.
Publisher
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Reference95 articles.
1. Worldometers.info. COVID-19 CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC 2021 [Available from: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/.
2. Prevalence, Severity and Mortality associated with COPD and Smoking in patients with COVID-19: A Rapid Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
3. Prognosis of COVID-19 in patients with liver and kidney diseases: an early systematic review and meta-analysis;Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease,2020
4. Yang J , Zheng Y , Gou X , Pu K , Chen Z , Guo Q , et al. Prevalence of comorbidities in the novel Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) infection: a systematic review and meta-analysis. International journal of infectious diseases. 2020.
5. Guan WJ , Liang WH , Zhao Y , Liang HR , Chen ZS , Li YM , et al. Comorbidity and its impact on 1590 patients with COVID-19 in China: a nationwide analysis. Eur Respir J. 2020;55(5).