Background: The prevalence of heart failure (HF) is expected to rise due to increased survivorship and life expectancy of patients with acute heart conditions. Patients with HF and other multiple comorbid conditions are likely to have poor health outcomes. This study aimed to assimilate the current body of knowledge and to provide the pooled effect of HF patients’ comorbid conditions on health outcomes.

Methods: A systematic search was performed using MEDLINE, EMBASE and CINAHL databases. Observational studies evaluating the relationship between comorbid conditions and the health outcomes of HF were included. The pooled effect sizes of comorbidity on the identified health outcomes were calculated using a random effects model, and heterogeneity was evaluated using I² statistics.

Results: A total of 42 studies were included in this review, and a meta-analysis was performed using the results of 39 studies. In the pooled analysis, the presence of a comorbid condition showed significant pooled effect size in relation to the prognostic health outcomes: all-cause mortality (HR 1.31; 95% CI 1.18, 1.45), all-cause readmission (HR 1.16; 95% CI 1.09, 1.23), HF-related readmission (HR 1.13; 95% CI 1.05, 1.23), and non-HF-related readmission (HR 1.17; 95% CI 1.07, 1.27). Also, comorbidity was significantly associated with self-care confidence. Furthermore, we identified 10 individual comorbid conditions that have negative effects on overall prognostic outcomes: DM (HR 1.16, 95% CI 1.11, 1.22, p< 0.001), COPD (HR 1.31, 95% CI 1.23, 1.39, p< 0.001), CKD (HR 1.18, 95% CI 1.14, 1.23, p< 0.001, stroke (HR 1.25, 95% CI 1.17, 1.33, p< 0.001), IHD (HR 1.17, 95% CI 1.11, 1.23, p< 0.001), anemia (HR 1.42, 95% CI 1.14, 1.78, p< 0.01), cancer (HR 1.17, 95% CI 1.04, 1.32, p= 0.01), atrial fibrillation (HR 1.25, 95% CI 1.01, 1.54, p= 0.04), dementia (HR 1.19, 95% CI 1.03, 1.36, p= 0.02) and depression (HR 1.17, 95% CI 1.04, 1.31, p= 0.07).

Conclusions: Comorbid conditions have significantly negative pooled effects on HF patient health outcomes, especially in regard to the prognostic health outcomes. Clinicians should carefully identify and manage these conditions when implementing HF interventions to improve prognostic outcomes.