The association between severe or dead COVID-19 and autoimmune diseases: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

COVID-19 is an acute inflammatory infectious disease. It is now generally accepted that the occurrence of autoimmune diseases is related to autoinflammatory8. Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, Zachary SW and colleagues proposed three key reasons that COVID-19 may affect patients with autoimmune diseases9. Understanding how COVID-19 is associated with rheumatic diseases is imperative for rheumatology health professionals and people living with rheumatic diseases. Our study showed that autoimmune disease was slightly associated with increased risk of severity and mortality of COVID-19 through meta-analysis, but the statistical difference was not significant. In terms of treatment and prognosis, COVID-19 patients combined with autoimmune diseases may not need special attention. Nevertheless, we cannot let our guard down. Because our study was limited by small sample size, and five included studies are from China, the results should be interpreted with caution. In addition, researchers should also pay more attention to the impact of the types of autoimmune diseases and drugs on treatment and prognosis. In conclusion, we should not relax our focus on the COVID19 patients with autoimmune diseases. More high-quality studies from different regions are needed to better understand the association between COVID-19 disease and autoimmune diseases.