Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2022 May;63(5):229-235.
doi: 10.11622/smedj.2020111. Epub 2020 Jul 30.

Psychological sequelae within different populations during the COVID-19 pandemic: a rapid review of extant evidence

Xin Jie Jordon Tng  1   2 , Qian Hui Chew  1   2 , Kang Sim  3
Affiliations
Review

Psychological sequelae within different populations during the COVID-19 pandemic: a rapid review of extant evidence

Xin Jie Jordon Tng et al. Singapore Med J. 2022 May.

Abstract

The rapid spread of COVID-19 has a potentially significant impact on not only physical health but also psychological well-being. To the best of our knowledge, no review thus far has consolidated the psychological impact of COVID-19 across different subpopulations. A systematic search of the literature until 15 June 2020 found 150 empirical papers pertinent to the mental health consequences of the pandemic. The majority (87.3%) were from China (45.3%), the rest of Asia (22.0%) and Europe (20.0%), and mostly examined the general population (37.3%), healthcare workers (31.3%) and those with pre-existing mental and physical illnesses (14.7%). The most common psychological responses across these subpopulations were anxiety (overall range 24.8%-49.5%), depression (overall range 18.6%-42.6%) and traumatic stress symptoms (overall range 12.7%-31.6%). Healthcare workers and those with pre-existing physical and mental illnesses were more severely affected. Future studies are needed on underexamined subgroups such as the elderly and patients who recovered from COVID-19.

Keywords: healthcare workers; infectious diseases; psychological responses; vulnerable populations.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
PRISMA chart shows the article selection process.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Worldometer. COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. [Accessed June 15, 2020]. Available at: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
    1. Chew QH, Wei KC, Vasoo S, Chua HC, Sim K. Narrative synthesis of psychological and coping responses towards emerging infectious disease outbreaks in the general population:practical considerations for the COVID-19 pandemic. Singapore Med J. 2020 Apr 3; https://doi.org/10.11622/smedj.2020046. [Epub ahead of print] - PMC - PubMed
    1. Sim K, Chong PN, Chan YH, Soon WS. Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related psychiatric and posttraumatic morbidities and coping responses in medical staff within a primary health care setting in Singapore. J Clin Psychiatry. 2004;65:1120–7. - PubMed
    1. Shokraneh F. Keeping up with studies on COVID-19:systematic search strategies and resources. BMJ. 2020;369:m1601. - PubMed
    1. Hao F, Tan W, Jiang L, et al. Do psychiatric patients experience more psychiatric symptoms during COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown?A case-control study with service and research implications for immunopsychiatry. Brain Behav Immun. 2020;87:100–6. - PMC - PubMed