Abstract
Background: SARS-CoV-2 is an emerging pathogen, and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been declared a global pandemic. We aim to summarize current evidence regarding the risk of death and the severity of COVID-19 as well as risk factors for severe COVID-19.Methods: The PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science databases as well as some Chinese databases were searched for clinical and epidemiological studies on COVID-19. We conducted a meta-analysis to examine COVID-19-related death and risk factors for the severity of COVID-19.Results: A total of 55 studies fulfilled the criteria for this review. The case fatality risk ranged from 0 to 61.5%, with a pooled estimate of 3.3%. The risks of ICU admission, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)and severe COVID-19 were 24.9%, 20.9% and 26.6%, respectively. Factors related to the risk of severe COVID-19 were older age (MD=10.09, 95% CI:7.03, 13.16), male sex (OR=1.62, 95% CI:1.32, 1.99), hypertension (OR=2.34, 95% CI:1.47, 3.73), diabetes (OR=2.25, 95% CI:1.68, 3.03), chronic renal disease (OR=3.60, 95% CI:1.53, 8.46), heart disease (OR=2.76, 95% CI:1.78, 4.30), respiratory disease (OR=3.74, 95% CI:2.15, 6.49), cerebrovascular disease (OR=2.21, 95% CI:1.23, 3.98), higher D-dimer levels (SMD=0.62, 95% CI:0.28, 0.96), and higher IL-6 levels (SMD=2.21, 95% CI:0.11, 4.31). However, liver disease (OR=0.63, 95% CI: 0.36, 1.10) was found to be a nonsignificant predictor of the severity of COVID-19.Conclusions: The case fatality risk of COVID-19 and the risk of severe manifestations were not very high, and variances in the study designs and regions led to high heterogeneity among the studies. Male sex, older age, comorbidities such as hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease and cerebrovascular disease could increase the risk of developing a severe case of COVID-19. Laboratory parameters, such as D-dimer and IL-6 levels, could affect the prognosis of COVID-19.