AUTHOR=Chidambaram Vignesh , Shanmugavel Geetha Harinivaas , Kumar Amudha , Majella Marie Gilbert , Sivakumar Ranjith Kumar , Voruganti Dinesh , Mehta Jawahar L. , Karakousis Petros C. TITLE=Association of Lipid Levels With COVID-19 Infection, Disease Severity and Mortality: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine VOLUME=9 YEAR=2022 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cardiovascular-medicine/articles/10.3389/fcvm.2022.862999 DOI=10.3389/fcvm.2022.862999 ISSN=2297-055X ABSTRACT=Background

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) ranges from asymptomatic infection to severe illness. Cholesterol in the host cell plasma membrane plays an important role in the SARS-CoV-2 virus entry into cells. Serum lipids, especially low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), are in constant interaction with the lipid rafts in the host cell membranes and can modify the interaction of virus with host cells and the resultant disease severity. Recent studies on serum lipid levels and COVID-19 disease severity lack consistency.

Objectives

Our systematic review and meta-analysis compared the serum levels of total cholesterol (TC), LDL-C, HDL-C, and triglycerides (TG) between (1) COVID-19 patients vs. healthy controls; (2) severe vs. non-severe COVID-19 disease; (3) deceased vs. surviving COVID-19 patients.

Methods

PRISMA guidelines were followed. We included peer-reviewed articles on observational (case-control and cohort) studies from PubMed and Embase published from the database inception until September 1, 2021. We used random-effects meta-analysis for pooled mean-differences (pMD) in lipid levels (mg/dL) for the above groups.

Results

Among 441 articles identified, 29 articles (26 retrospective and 3 prospective cohorts), with an aggregate of 256,721 participants, were included. COVID-19 patients had lower TC (pMD-14.9, 95%CI-21.6 to −8.3) and HDL-C (pMD-6.9, 95%CI −10.2 to −3.7) levels (mg/dL). Severe COVID-19 patients had lower TC (pMD-10.4, 95%CI −18.7 to −2.2), LDL-C (pMD-4.4, 95%CI −8.4 to −0.42), and HDL-C (pMD-4.4, 95%CI −6.9 to −1.8) at admission compared to patients with non-severe disease. Deceased patients had lower TC (pMD-14.9, 95%CI −21.6 to −8.3), LDL-C (pMD-10.6, 95%CI −16.5 to −4.6) and HDL-C (pMD-2.5, 95%CI −3.9 to −1.0) at admission. TG levels did not differ based on COVID-19 severity or mortality. No publication bias was noted.

Conclusion

We demonstrated lower lipid levels in patients with COVID-19 infection and an association with disease severity and mortality. Their potential role in COVID-19 pathogenesis and their utility as prognostic factors require further investigation.