SynthesisJAMA network open2021
Global Percentage of Asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 Infections Among the Tested Population and Individuals With Confirmed COVID-19 Diagnosis: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.
Synthesis in JAMA network open, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 284 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
284 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 491 citations in OpenAlex.
- Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies among healthy blood donors: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC public health · 2024Pooled it
- New variants of COVID-19 (XBB.1.5 and XBB.1.16, the "Arcturus"): A review of highly questioned concerns, a brief comparison between different peaks in the COVID-19 pandemic, with a focused systematic review on expert recommendations for prevention, vaccination, and treatment measures in the general population and at-risk groups.Immunity, inflammation and disease · 2024Pooled it
- Long-Term Consequences of Asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 Infection: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Pooled it
- Intensified screening for SARS-CoV-2 in 18 emergency departments in the Paris metropolitan area, France (DEPIST-COVID): A cluster-randomized, two-period, crossover trial.PLoS medicine · 2023Trial
- Trial
- Universal SARS-CoV-2 RT-qPCR admission screening over 21 months in a German tertiary care hospital: detection of asymptomatic infections.BMC infectious diseases · 2026Article
- The MRI two-perfusion IVIM model improves understanding of SARS-CoV-2 virus impact on placental tissue.Magma (New York, N.Y.) · 2026Article
- Imported SARS-CoV-2 Infections at N'djili International Airport in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo: An Epidemiological and Genomic Analysis.Influenza and other respiratory viruses · 2026Article
- Considerations for epidemiological studies investigating emerging post-acute infection syndromes: Long Covid as a case study.EClinicalMedicine · 2026Review
- Population health and implementation outcomes of self-testing for SARS-CoV-2 using antigen detecting diagnostics: a systematic review and meta-analysis.EClinicalMedicine · 2026Article
- Mental Health in Educational Communities in Chile After a Public Health Emergency: An Assessment of Schoolchildren and Their Caregivers.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2026Article
- Translational MicroRNA research in COVID-19: bridging in Silico prediction with clinical biomarker potential.Clinical and experimental medicine · 2026Article
- Bayesian uncertainty quantification to identify population level vaccine hesitancy behaviours.PloS one · 2026Article
- Epidemiology, clinical characteristics, and risk factors of SARS-CoV-2 in Côte d'Ivoire: a cross-sectional study.The Pan African medical journal · 2026Article
- Acute SARS-CoV-2 infection.Nature reviews. Disease primers · 2025Review
- Article
- Long-Term Sewage Survey of SARS-CoV-2, Influenza A and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), and Correlation to Human Cases in a City with One Million Inhabitants.Microorganisms · 2025Article
- The Seroprevalence of Influenza A Virus Infections in Polish Cats During a Feline H5N1 Influenza Outbreak in 2023.Viruses · 2025Article
- A repeated cross-sectional analysis of SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in Manila, the Philippines after implementation of the national COVID-19 vaccination program.Tropical medicine and health · 2025Article
- Host susceptibilities and entry processes of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variants using pseudotyped viruses carrying spike protein.BMC veterinary research · 2025Article
224 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Importance: Asymptomatic infections are potential sources of transmission for COVID-19. Objective: To evaluate the percentage of asymptomatic infections among individuals undergoing testing (tested population) and those with confirmed COVID-19 (confirmed population). Data Sources: PubMed, EMBASE, and ScienceDirect were searched on February 4, 2021. Study Selection: Cross-sectional studies, cohort studies, case series studies, and case series on transmission reporting the number of asymptomatic infections among the tested and confirmed COVID-19 populations that were published in Chinese or English were included. Data Extraction and Synthesis: This meta-analysis was conducted following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guideline. Random-effects models were used to estimate the pooled percentage and its 95% CI. Three researchers performed the data extraction independently. Main Outcomes and Measures: The percentage of asymptomatic infections among the tested and confirmed populations. Results: Ninety-five unique eligible studies were included, covering 29 776 306 individuals undergoing testing. The pooled percentage of asymptomatic infections among the tested population was 0.25% (95% CI, 0.23%-0.27%), which was higher in nursing home residents or staff (4.52% [95% CI, 4.15%-4.89%]), air or cruise travelers (2.02% [95% CI, 1.66%-2.38%]), and pregnant women (2.34% [95% CI, 1.89%-2.78%]). The pooled percentage of asymptomatic infections among the confirmed population was 40.50% (95% CI, 33.50%-47.50%), which was higher in pregnant women (54.11% [95% CI, 39.16%-69.05%]), air or cruise travelers (52.91% [95% CI, 36.08%-69.73%]), and nursing home residents or staff (47.53% [95% CI, 36.36%-58.70%]). Conclusions and Relevance: In this meta-analysis of the percentage of asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections among populations tested for and with confirmed COVID-19, the pooled percentage of asymptomatic infections was 0.25% among the tested population and 40.50% among the confirmed population. The high percentage of asymptomatic infections highlights the potential transmission risk of asymptomatic infections in communities.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.