The Potential Role of Dyslipidemia in COVID-19 Severity: an Umbrella Review of Systematic Reviews

Choi, Geun Joo; Kim, Hyun Min; Kang, Hyun

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to analyze the available knowledge about the potential association between dyslipidemia and the severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as reported in previous published systematic reviews. METHODS: In this umbrella review (an overview of systematic reviews), we investigated the association between dyslipidemia and COVID-19 severity. A systematic search was performed of 4 main electronic databases (MEDLINE, Embase, Scopus, and the Cochrane Library databases) from inception until August 2020. We evaluated the methodological quality of the included studies using the A MeaSurement Tool to Assess systematic Reviews (AMSTAR) 2 tool and used the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) system to assess the quality of evidence for the outcome. In addition, we evaluated the strengths and limitations of the evidence and the methodological quality of the available studies. RESULTS: Out of 35 articles identified, 2 systematic reviews were included in the umbrella review. A total of 7,951 COVID-19-positive patients were included. According to the AMSTAR 2 criteria and GRADE system, the quality of the included studies was not high. A history of dyslipidemia is likely to be associated with the severity of COVID-19 infection, but the contrary is the case for cholesterol levels at hospitalization. CONCLUSIONS: Although existing research on dyslipidemia and COVID-19 is limited, our findings suggest that dyslipidemia may play a role in the severity of COVID-19 infection. More adequately powered studies are needed. TRIAL REGISTRATION: PROSPERO Identifier: CRD42020205979