• Juan Gao, Linya Feng, Yaru Li, Scott Lowe, Zhichun Guo, Rachel Bentley, Chuman Xie, Birong Wu, Peng Xie, Weihang Xia, Shaodi Ma, Haixia Liu, Xianwei Guo, John Patrick N Uy, Qin Zhou, Hina Wazir, and Chenyu Sun.
• Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China.
• Am J Prev Med. 2023 Feb 1; 64 (2): 275284275-284.

IntroductionThere have been reports of potential negative cardiovascular effects from the COVID-19 vaccine, such as myocarditis or pericarditis. This study sought to ascertain the risk of myocarditis/pericarditis after COVID-19 vaccination by conducting an extensive meta-analysis of published cases.MethodsA systematic literature search was conducted in 7 online databases by March 31, 2022. Heterogeneity was tested by I2 index. RR and 95% CI were pooled through either random-effect or fixed-effect models. Sensitivity analysis and publication bias were also conducted.ResultsA total of 11 studies with 58,620,611 subjects were included. COVID-19 vaccination correlated with an increased risk of myocarditis or pericarditis (RR=2.04; 95% CI=1.33, 3.14). In addition, an increased risk of myocarditis or pericarditis in people who received the second dose of COVID-19 vaccine compared with that in those who received only the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine was also found (RR=4.06; 95% CI=2.08, 7.92). An increased incidence of pericarditis or myocarditis was noted predominantly in those who received BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273 vaccines (RR=2.19; 95% CI=1.46, 3.29 and RR=4.15; 95% CI=1.87, 9.22, respectively).DiscussionStudy results indicate that a higher incidence of myocarditis or pericarditis was found after COVID-19 vaccination. In addition, the risk of developing myocarditis or pericarditis was greater after the second dose than after the first dose. Nevertheless, the risks of myocarditis and pericarditis in COVID-19 vaccine recipients are still significantly lower than the health risks observed in patients with COVID-19. Therefore, the benefits and harms must be carefully assessed to determine the best management option for patients who are in the high-risk group of myocarditis or pericarditis.Copyright © 2022 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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