HIV infection and risk of COVID-19 mortality: A meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: This meta-analysis aimed to estimate the association of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and risk of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) mortality. METHODS: We systematically retrieved articles published on HIV infection and risk of COVID-19 mortality through PubMed, EMBase, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, WanFang, and Chongqing VIP databases using a predefined search strategy from December 1, 2019 to January 31, 2021. Newcastle–Ottawa Scale (NOS) was used to assess the quality of the included studies. Cochran Q test and I(2) statistics were quantified to measure heterogeneity. Odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were computed and displayed in the form of forest plots. Subgroup analysis was performed to explore the source of heterogeneity. Funnel plot, Begg test, and Egger test were used to assess potential publication bias. Stata software version 11.0 was used to analyze all the statistical data. RESULTS: We included 10 studies with 18,122,370 COVID-19 patients, of whom 41,113 were with HIV infection and 18,081,257 were without HIV infection. The pooled overall results suggested that people living with HIV infection had a higher risk of mortality from COVID-19 than those without HIV infection (OR = 1.252, 95% CI 1.027–1.524). Subgroup analysis showed that people living with HIV infection had a higher risk of COVID-19 mortality than those without HIV infection in the United States (OR = 1.520, 95% CI 1.252–1.845) and in South Africa (OR = 1.122, 95% CI 1.032–1.220); however, no significant association was found in the United Kingdom (OR = 0.878, 95% CI 0.657–1.174). CONCLUSION: Patients with HIV infection should be the emphasis population to prevent the risk of mortality during the clinical treatment of COVID-19 patients.