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. 2021 Jun 11:12:661078.
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.661078. eCollection 2021.

Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Fear of COVID-19

Faxiang Luo  1 , Reza Ghanei Gheshlagh  2 , Sahar Dalvand  3   4 , Sholeh Saedmoucheshi  5 , Qingyun Li  6
Affiliations

Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Fear of COVID-19

Faxiang Luo et al. Front Psychol. .

Abstract

Background: Due to lack of preparedness of health systems, fast spread of the new virus, high mortality rates, and lack of a definite treatment, the outbreak of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) led to high levels of fear and anxiety in different populations. In addition, isolation, mental disorders, and limitations in social interactions as a result of lockdown and travel ban increased the fear of the new coronavirus. Methods: International databases, including Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science, and Google scholar, were searched without any time limitation, and all observational studies published in English reporting the mean of fear of COVID-19 based on the Fear of COVID-19 scale (FCV-19S) were included in the analysis. Methodological quality was assessed using the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) guidelines. Random effects model, subgroup analysis, and meta-regression analysis were used to analyze the data. Heterogeneity across studies was examined using Cochran's Q test and I 2 statistic. All the statistical analyses were conducted using R software v4.0.3. Results: A total of 44 articles with a sample size of 52,462 were reviewed. A pooled mean of 18.57 was found for fear of COVID-19. The mean of fear of COVID-19 was higher in women than in men (20.67 vs. 18.21). The highest and lowest means of fear of COVID-19 had been found in Asia (18.36) and Australia (17.43) based on continent, and in hospital staff (19.51) and college students (17.95) based on target population, respectively. In addition, the highest and lowest means of fear of COVID-19 were related to items #1 and #3 of the scale, respectively. According to the results of meta-regression analysis, there was no significant association between the mean of fear of COVID-19 and sample size and participants' age. In addition, publication error was not significant (P = 0.721). Conclusion: The mean of fear of COVID-19 was high around the world; therefore, it seems necessary to pay more attention to the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health.

Keywords: COVID-19; fear; fear of COVID-19; meta-analysis; systematic review.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Process of selecting and screening articles.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Forest plot showing the pooled mean of fear of COVID-19 (N = 33).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Meta-regression analysis of the relationship between mean of fear of COVID-19 and sample size (A) and mean age of participants (B).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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