Prevalence and risk of COVID-19 in patients with rheumatic diseases: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

• Although the risk of COVID-19 in patients with rheumatic diseases has been discussed in previous meta-analysis, their research directions were inconsistent, and few studies focus on prevalence or serious outcomes of COVID-19 in patient with rheumatic diseases, while the quality of these articles was variable. • The incidence of COVID-19 and serious clinical outcomes in patients with rheumatic diseases were still high along with differential risks in most regions. • The use of glucocorticoids and conventional synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs did not affect the hospitalization rate and mortality in rheumatism patients with COVID-19.