Mortality associated with COVID-19 and hypertension in sub-Saharan Africa. A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Hypertension is a common comorbidity in COVID-19 patients. However, little data is available on mortality in COVID-19 patients with hypertension in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Herein, the authors conducted a systematic review of research articles published from January 1, 2020 to July 1, 2021. Our aim was to evaluate the magnitude of COVID-19 mortality in patients with hypertension in SSA. Following the PRISMA guidelines, two independent investigators conducted the literature review to collect relevant data. The authors used a random effect model to estimate the odds ratio, or hazard ratio, with a 95% confidence interval (CI). Furthermore, the authors used Egger's tests to check for publication bias. For mortality analysis, the authors included data on 29 945 COVID-19 patients from seven publications. The authors assessed the heterogeneity across studies with the I2 test. Finally, the pooled analysis revealed that hypertension was associated with an increased odds of mortality among COVID-19 inpatients (OR 1.32; 95% CI, 1.13-1.50). Our analysis revealed neither substantial heterogeneity across studies nor a publication bias. Therefore, our prespecified results provided new evidence that hypertension could increase the risk of mortality from COVID-19 in SSA.