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Meta-Analysis
. 2020 Sep:291:113190.
doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113190. Epub 2020 Jun 7.

The psychological and mental impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on medical staff and general public - A systematic review and meta-analysis

Min Luo  1 , Lixia Guo  2 , Mingzhou Yu  3 , Wenying Jiang  4 , Haiyan Wang  5
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

The psychological and mental impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on medical staff and general public - A systematic review and meta-analysis

Min Luo et al. Psychiatry Res. 2020 Sep.

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused enormous psychological impact worldwide. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis on the psychological and mental impact of COVID-19 among healthcare workers, the general population, and patients with higher COVID-19 risk published between 1 Nov 2019 to 25 May 2020. We conducted literature research using Embase, PubMed, Google scholar and WHO COVID-19 databases. Among the initial search of 9207 studies, 62 studies with 162,639 participants from 17 countries were included in the review. The pooled prevalence of anxiety and depression was 33% (95% confidence interval: 28%-38%) and 28% (23%-32%), respectively. The prevalence of anxiety and depression was the highest among patients with pre-existing conditions and COVID-19 infection (56% [39%-73%] and 55% [48%-62%]), and it was similar between healthcare workers and the general public. Studies from China, Italy, Turkey, Spain and Iran reported higher-than-pooled prevalence among healthcare workers and the general public. Common risk factors included being women, being nurses, having lower socioeconomic status, having high risks of contracting COVID-19, and social isolation. Protective factors included having sufficient medical resources, up-to-date and accurate information, and taking precautionary measures. In conclusion, psychological interventions targeting high-risk populations with heavy psychological distress are in urgent need.

Keywords: Anxiety; COVID-19; Depression; Psychological impact; Psychological intervention; Review; Stress.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Competing Interest None.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig. 1
Forest plot of the prevalence of anxiety. Figure legend: The square markers indicate the prevalence of anxiety. The size of the marker correlates to the inverse variance of the effect estimate and indicates the weight of the study. The diamond data marker indicates the pooled prevalence.
Fig 2
Fig. 2
Forest plot of the prevalence of depression. Figure legend: The square markers indicate the prevalence of depression. The size of the marker correlates to the inverse variance of the effect estimate and indicates the weight of the study. The diamond data marker indicates the pooled prevalence.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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