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Meta-Analysis
. 2020 Sep:171:106096.
doi: 10.1016/j.rmed.2020.106096. Epub 2020 Jul 30.

Underlying respiratory diseases, specifically COPD, and smoking are associated with severe COVID-19 outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Diana C Sanchez-Ramirez  1 , Denise Mackey  2
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Underlying respiratory diseases, specifically COPD, and smoking are associated with severe COVID-19 outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Diana C Sanchez-Ramirez et al. Respir Med. 2020 Sep.

Abstract

Background: An outbreak of Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has spread rapidly reaching over 3 million of confirmed cases worldwide. The association of respiratory diseases and smoking, both highly prevalent globally, with COVID-19 severity has not been elucidated. Given the gap in the evidence and the growing prevalence of COVID-19, the objective of this study was to explore the association of underlying respiratory diseases and smoking with severe outcomes in patients with COVID-19 infection.

Methods: A systematic search was performed to identify studies reporting prevalence of respiratory diseases and/or smoking in relation with disease severity in patients with confirm COVID-19, published between January 1 to April 15, 2020 in English language. Pooled odds-ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were calculated.

Findings: Twenty two studies met the inclusion criteria. All the studies presented data of 13,184 COVID-19 patients (55% males). Patients with severe outcomes were older and a larger percentage were males compared with the non-severe. Pooled analysis showed that prevalence of respiratory diseases (OR 4.21; 95% CI, 2.9-6.0) and smoking (current smoking OR 1.98; 95% CI, 1.16-3.39 and former smoking OR 3.46; 95% CI, 2.46-4.85) were significantly associated with severe COVID-19 outcomes.

Interpretation: Results suggested that underlying respiratory diseases, specifically COPD, and smoking were associated with severe COVID-19 outcomes. These findings may support the planning of preventive interventions and could contribute to improvements in the assessment and management of patient risk factors in clinical practice, leading to the mitigation of severe outcomes in patients with COVID-19 infection.

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Conflict of interest statement

Authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Diagram flow of studies screened and included in the review and meta-analysis.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Prevalence of underlying respiratory conditions (RC) in severe patients compared to non-severe patients with COVID-19.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Current smoking (CS) in severe patients compared to non-severe patients with COVID-19.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Former smoking (FS) in severe patients compared to non-severe patients with COVID-19.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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