A large-scale meta-analytic atlas of mental health problems prevalence during the COVID-19 early pandemicShow others and affiliations
2022 (English)In: Journal of Medical Virology, ISSN 0146-6615, E-ISSN 1096-9071, Vol. 94, no 5, p. 1935-1949Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
The COVID-19 pandemic and related restrictions can impact mental health. To quantify the mental health burden of COVID-19 pandemic, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis, searching World Health Organization COVID-19/PsycInfo/PubMed databases (09/29/2020), including observational studies reporting on mental health outcomes in any population affected by COVID-19. Primary outcomes were the prevalence of anxiety, depression, stress, sleep problems, posttraumatic symptoms. Sensitivity analyses were conducted on severe mental health problems, in high-quality studies, and in representative samples. Subgroup analyses were conducted stratified by age, sex, country income level, and COVID-19 infection status. One-hundred-seventy-three studies from February to July 2020 were included (n = 502,261, median sample = 948, age = 34.4 years, females = 63%). Ninety-one percent were cross-sectional studies, and 18.5%/57.2% were of high/moderate quality. The highest prevalence emerged for posttraumatic symptoms in COVID-19 infected people (94%), followed by behavioral problems in those with prior mental disorders (77%), fear in healthcare workers (71%), anxiety in caregivers/family members of people with COVID-19 (42%), general health/social contact/passive coping style in the general population (38%), depression in those with prior somatic disorders (37%), and fear in other-than-healthcare workers (29%). Females and people with COVID-19 infection had higher rates of almost all outcomes; college students/young adults of anxiety, depression, sleep problems, suicidal ideation; adults of fear and posttraumatic symptoms. Anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic symptoms were more prevalent in low-/middle-income countries, sleep problems in high-income countries. The COVID-19 pandemic adversely impacts mental health in a unique manner across population subgroups. Our results inform tailored preventive strategies and interventions to mitigate current, future, and transgenerational adverse mental health of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
WILEY , 2022. Vol. 94, no 5, p. 1935-1949
Keywords [en]
anxiety; COVID-19 pandemic; depression; mental health
National Category
Infectious Medicine
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-182343DOI: 10.1002/jmv.27549ISI: 000740637900001PubMedID: 34958144OAI: oai:DiVA.org:liu-182343DiVA, id: diva2:1629638
2022-01-182022-01-182023-02-28Bibliographically approved