A Meta-Analysis of Comorbidities among 2009 H1N1 Pandemic Pediatric Hospitalizations with Global Implications for Future Pandemics

Since the early 2000s, the world has experienced the outbreaks of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), influenza virus H1N1 (swine flu), and currently coronavirus disease (COVID-19). This thesis investigates the implications of the 2009 H1N1 pandemic on the pediatric population through reviewing, describing, summarizing, and analyzing studies from 28 countries that reported data on H1N1-infected pediatric patients. Extracting data based on median ages, gender, and comorbidity rates from these studies, this thesis comprises basic statistical association tests to depict trends between the variables and suggest specific comorbidities may correlate with pediatric hospitalizations and critical care when contradicting the H1N1 pandemic flu. The thesis will draw on lessons learned from the H1N1 pandemic to inform future pandemics.