A systematic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal cohort studies comparing mental health before versus during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020

Abstract

Background Increases in mental health problems have been observed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The objectives were to examine the extent to which mental health symptoms changed during the pandemic in 2020, whether changes were persistent or short lived, and if changes were symptom specific. Methods Systematic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal cohort studies examining changes in mental health among the same group of participants before vs. during the pandemic in 2020. Results Sixty-five studies were included. Compared to pre-pandemic outbreak, there was an overall increase in mental health symptoms observed during March-April 2020 (SMC = .102 [95% CI: .026 to .192]) that significantly declined over time and became non-significant (May-July SMC = .067 [95% CI: -.022 to .157]. Compared to measures of anxiety (SMC = 0.13, p = 0.02) and general mental health (SMC = -.03, p = 0.65), increases in depression and mood disorder symptoms tended to be larger and remained significantly elevated in May-July [0.20, 95% CI: .099 to .302]. In primary analyses increases were most pronounced among samples with physical health conditions and there was no evidence of any change in symptoms among samples with a pre-existing mental health condition. Limitations There was a high degree of unexplained heterogeneity observed (I 2 s > 90%), indicating that change in mental health was highly variable across samples. Conclusions There was a small increase in mental health symptoms soon after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic that decreased and was comparable to pre-pandemic levels by mid-2020 among most population sub-groups and symptom types.

Post-COVID-19 psychiatric and cognitive morbidity: Preliminary findings from a Brazilian cohort study

“…Even though the cross-sectional nature of the psychiatric data acquisition precludes the assessment of incidence rates, we were able to determine the prevalence of new psychiatric diagnoses. Our data indicate a high prevalence of new diagnoses of ‘depression’, ‘generalized anxiety disorder’ and ‘obsessive compulsive disorder’, contrasting with the findings of a recent meta-analysis of longitudinal studies that found only a small increase on mental health issues among general population pre- and post-COVID-19 pandemic [ 33 ]. Noteworthy, our sample is older and represented by COVID-19 survivors, and therefore more prone to be clinically impaired.…”

Longitudinal Changes in Swiss Adolescent’s Mental Health Outcomes from before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…For example, based on statistics from pre-pandemic studies, several cross-sectional studies from China reported higher incidence rates for anxiety and depression symptoms in children and/or adolescents than expected [ 25 , 26 , 27 ]. Additionally, a longitudinal study of 14- to 17-year-old US adolescents also found increases in symptoms of depression and anxiety [ 28 ]. Similarly, an Australian study confirmed an increase in the incidence of severe symptoms of depression and anxiety in a sample of adolescents aged 13 to 16 [ 29 ].…”

The Relationships among Anxiety, Subjective Well-Being, Media Consumption, and Safety-Seeking Behaviors during the COVID-19 Epidemic

“…Therefore, people with poorer overall health tend to consider physical symptoms catastrophically and overestimate the risk of serious diseases, which may cause higher anxiety during pandemics [ 30 , 31 , 32 ]. The results also echoed with Robinson et al’s meta-analysis of longitudinal cohort studies, revealing that when comparing mental health symptoms to pre-pandemic levels, larger rises for depressive symptoms and those with existing poor physical health may have been most affected [ 14 ].…”

“…A meta-analysis of longitudinal cohort studies comparing mental health before versus during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 found an overall increase in mental health symptoms—e.g., [ 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 ]. Canet-Juric et al (2020) assessed the citizen’s emotional impact of the lockdown measures implemented by the Argentinian government to fight the COVID-19 pandemic [ 15 ].…”