2.3 Statistical analysis
We used Stata 12.0 software (Stata
Corp, College Station, TX, USA) for the meta-analysis. We undertook a
meta-analysis of the prevalence and clinical outcomes of COVID-19 among
individuals with ARDs from observational by using a random effects
model. We evaluated the presence of heterogeneity across studies by
using the I2 statistic. An I2 value
of <25% indicates low heterogeneity, 25%–75% as moderate
heterogeneity, and >75% as considerable heterogeneity. A
random effects regression model was used to assess the contributions of
each potential risk factor and medication class to the prevalence and
adverse clinical outcomes. Since the medication regimen of each patient
in the included studies could not be obtained, we regarded the drugs
used by the patients as the drugs used by all patients in the studies,
regardless of the proportion of the number of people who have used the
drugs in the studies. Besides, we regarded the drugs used by more than
50% of the patients in this study as the primary drugs used by all
patients.