Centenarian Mortality Rate During COVID-19: Protocol for a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

BackgroundMarked by high mortality rates on a global scale, with disease mortality being notably focused among older adults, the COVID-19 pandemic has become a significant health crisis. Despite the numerous publications on COVID-19 mortality among older adults, there is stil...

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Main Authors: Shaima Ibrahim, Omnia Mahmoud Abdelraheem, Wafa Abu El Kheir-Mataria, Sungsoo Chun
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: JMIR Publications 2025-08-01
Series:JMIR Research Protocols
Online Access:https://www.researchprotocols.org/2025/1/e74068
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author Shaima Ibrahim
Omnia Mahmoud Abdelraheem
Wafa Abu El Kheir-Mataria
Sungsoo Chun
author_facet Shaima Ibrahim
Omnia Mahmoud Abdelraheem
Wafa Abu El Kheir-Mataria
Sungsoo Chun
author_sort Shaima Ibrahim
collection DOAJ
description BackgroundMarked by high mortality rates on a global scale, with disease mortality being notably focused among older adults, the COVID-19 pandemic has become a significant health crisis. Despite the numerous publications on COVID-19 mortality among older adults, there is still a gap in knowledge when considering centenarians, as there is no systematic review and meta-analysis that summarizes COVID-19 mortality in centenarians globally. ObjectiveThis study aims to systematically review and synthesize global evidence on COVID-19 mortality rates among centenarians and the population of older adults worldwide, whether residing in long-term health facilities, hospitals, or their homes. MethodsAn automated search was conducted on the following databases: PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. Observational studies, both cohort and case-control, were selected. Quality assessment of the selected studies was based on the Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal tool for observational cohort and case-control studies. Three independent authors conducted the searches, and any possible disagreements were resolved by consensus. A meta-analysis of mortality proportions will be conducted to calculate the raw, logit, and arcsine proportions for all studies included in our meta-analyses. Heterogeneity between studies with a significance of P=.05 will be assessed by calculating the I2 value using the DerSimonian and Laird method for random effects. Odds ratios and 95% CIs for dichotomous data and weighted mean risk differences and 95% CIs for continuous variables will be calculated. Further subgroup analyses will be attempted to explore heterogeneity among over 6.7 million older adults. Leave-one-out sensitivity tests will be conducted to assess the robustness of our results. The meta-analysis will be conducted using R software version 4.4.2 (R Foundation for Statistical Computing). ResultsA total of 4 studies were included in our systematic review and meta-analysis. Of the included studies, 3 are retrospective cohort studies and 1 is an observational, retrospective case-control study. As for study group size, 1 cohort study was conducted on a population of less than 1000 participants, 2 studies (1 cohort and 1 case-control) involved more than 10,000 participants, and 1 cohort study included more than 6 million participants. ConclusionsThis study has significant potential. Given the consensus that older adults, let alone centenarians, are the most vulnerable demographic to serious outcomes and deaths during pandemics. Addressing these gaps is crucial for the informed development of public policies, enabling countries to minimize the impacts on this population, particularly during health crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Trial RegistrationPROSPERO CRD42025645150; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD42025645150 International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)DERR1-10.2196/74068
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spelling doaj-art-e3d4658aba6a448a9fb799830b35a8bd2025-08-20T03:36:34ZengJMIR PublicationsJMIR Research Protocols1929-07482025-08-0114e7406810.2196/74068Centenarian Mortality Rate During COVID-19: Protocol for a Systematic Review and Meta-AnalysisShaima Ibrahimhttps://orcid.org/0009-0006-7341-2921Omnia Mahmoud Abdelraheemhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-6887-9312Wafa Abu El Kheir-Matariahttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-9689-5667Sungsoo Chunhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-8105-7062 BackgroundMarked by high mortality rates on a global scale, with disease mortality being notably focused among older adults, the COVID-19 pandemic has become a significant health crisis. Despite the numerous publications on COVID-19 mortality among older adults, there is still a gap in knowledge when considering centenarians, as there is no systematic review and meta-analysis that summarizes COVID-19 mortality in centenarians globally. ObjectiveThis study aims to systematically review and synthesize global evidence on COVID-19 mortality rates among centenarians and the population of older adults worldwide, whether residing in long-term health facilities, hospitals, or their homes. MethodsAn automated search was conducted on the following databases: PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. Observational studies, both cohort and case-control, were selected. Quality assessment of the selected studies was based on the Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal tool for observational cohort and case-control studies. Three independent authors conducted the searches, and any possible disagreements were resolved by consensus. A meta-analysis of mortality proportions will be conducted to calculate the raw, logit, and arcsine proportions for all studies included in our meta-analyses. Heterogeneity between studies with a significance of P=.05 will be assessed by calculating the I2 value using the DerSimonian and Laird method for random effects. Odds ratios and 95% CIs for dichotomous data and weighted mean risk differences and 95% CIs for continuous variables will be calculated. Further subgroup analyses will be attempted to explore heterogeneity among over 6.7 million older adults. Leave-one-out sensitivity tests will be conducted to assess the robustness of our results. The meta-analysis will be conducted using R software version 4.4.2 (R Foundation for Statistical Computing). ResultsA total of 4 studies were included in our systematic review and meta-analysis. Of the included studies, 3 are retrospective cohort studies and 1 is an observational, retrospective case-control study. As for study group size, 1 cohort study was conducted on a population of less than 1000 participants, 2 studies (1 cohort and 1 case-control) involved more than 10,000 participants, and 1 cohort study included more than 6 million participants. ConclusionsThis study has significant potential. Given the consensus that older adults, let alone centenarians, are the most vulnerable demographic to serious outcomes and deaths during pandemics. Addressing these gaps is crucial for the informed development of public policies, enabling countries to minimize the impacts on this population, particularly during health crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Trial RegistrationPROSPERO CRD42025645150; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD42025645150 International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)DERR1-10.2196/74068https://www.researchprotocols.org/2025/1/e74068
spellingShingle Shaima Ibrahim
Omnia Mahmoud Abdelraheem
Wafa Abu El Kheir-Mataria
Sungsoo Chun
Centenarian Mortality Rate During COVID-19: Protocol for a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
JMIR Research Protocols
title Centenarian Mortality Rate During COVID-19: Protocol for a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
title_full Centenarian Mortality Rate During COVID-19: Protocol for a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
title_fullStr Centenarian Mortality Rate During COVID-19: Protocol for a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
title_full_unstemmed Centenarian Mortality Rate During COVID-19: Protocol for a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
title_short Centenarian Mortality Rate During COVID-19: Protocol for a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
title_sort centenarian mortality rate during covid 19 protocol for a systematic review and meta analysis
url https://www.researchprotocols.org/2025/1/e74068
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