摘要
BACKGROUND Large inter-individual and inter-population differences in the susceptibility to and outcome of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 or coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)have been noted.Understanding these differences and how they influence vulnerability to infection and disease severity is critical to public health intervention.AIM To analyze and compare the profile of COVID-19 cases between China and North America as two regions that differ in many environmental,host and healthcare factors related to disease risk.METHODS We conducted a meta-analysis to examine and compare demographic information,clinical symptoms,comorbidities,disease severity and levels of disease biomarkers of COVID-19 cases from clinical studies and data from China(105 studies)and North America(19 studies).RESULTS COVID-19 patients from North America were older than their Chinese counterparts and with higher male:Female ratio.Fever,cough,fatigue and dyspnea were the most common clinical symptoms in both study regions(present in about 30%to 75%of the cases in both regions).Meta-analysis for the prevalence of comorbidities(such as obesity,hypertension,diabetes,cardiovascular diseases,chronic obstructive pulmonary disease,cancer,and chronic kidney diseases)in COVID-19 patients were all significantly more prevalent in North America compared to China.Comorbidities were positively correlated with age but at a significantly younger age range in China compared to North American.The most prevalent infection outcome was acute respiratory distress syndrome which was 2-fold more frequent in North America than in China.Levels of C-reactive protein were 4.5-fold higher in the North American cases than in cases from China.CONCLUSION The differences in the profile of COVID-19 cases from China and North America may relate to differences in environmental-,host-and healthcare-related factors between the two regions.Such inter-population differences-together with intrapopulation variability-underline the need to characterize the effect of health inequities and inequalities on public health response to COVID-19 and can assist in preparing for the re-emergence of the epidemic.
