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Meta-Analysis
. 2021 May 15:287:145-157.
doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2021.03.016. Epub 2021 Mar 11.

The prevalence of psychiatric comorbidities during the SARS and COVID-19 epidemics: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies

Yan-Jie Zhao  1 , Yu Jin  2 , Wen-Wang Rao  1 , Wen Li  1 , Na Zhao  3 , Teris Cheung  4 , Chee H Ng  5 , Yuan-Yuan Wang  6 , Qing-E Zhang  7 , Yu-Tao Xiang  8
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

The prevalence of psychiatric comorbidities during the SARS and COVID-19 epidemics: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies

Yan-Jie Zhao et al. J Affect Disord. .

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) are associated with various psychiatric comorbidities. This is a systematic review and meta-analysis comparing the prevalence of psychiatric comorbidities in all subpopulations during the SARS and COVID-19 epidemics. A systematic literature search was conducted in major international (PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, PsycINFO) and Chinese (China National Knowledge Internet [CNKI] and Wanfang) databases to identify studies reporting prevalence of psychiatric comorbidities in all subpopulations during the SARS and COVID-19 epidemics. Data analyses were conducted using the Comprehensive Meta-Analysis Version 2.0 (CMA V2.0). Eighty-two studies involving 96,100 participants were included. The overall prevalence of depressive symptoms (depression hereinafter), anxiety symptoms (anxiety hereinafter), stress, distress, insomnia symptoms, post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and poor mental health during the COVID-19 epidemic were 23.9% (95% CI: 18.4%-30.3%), 23.4% (95% CI: 19.9%-27.3%), 14.2% (95% CI: 8.4%-22.9%), 16.0% (95% CI: 8.4%-28.5%), 26.5% (95% CI: 19.1%-35.5%), 24.9% (95% CI: 11.0%-46.8%), and 19.9% (95% CI: 11.7%-31.9%), respectively. Prevalence of poor mental health was higher in general populations than in health professionals (29.0% vs. 11.6%; Q=10.99, p=0.001). The prevalence of depression, anxiety, PTSS and poor mental health were similar between SARS and COVID-19 epidemics (all p values>0.05). Psychiatric comorbidities were common in different subpopulations during both the SARS and COVID-19 epidemics. Considering the negative impact of psychiatric comorbidities on health and wellbeing, timely screening and appropriate interventions for psychiatric comorbidities should be conducted for subpopulations affected by such serious epidemics.

Keywords: COVID-19; Psychiatric comorbidities; SARS; anxiety; depression; stress.

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Conflict of interest statement

There is no conflict of interest related to the topic of this manuscript.

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