An evaluation of the mental health impact of SARS-CoV-2 on patients, general public and healthcare professionals: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Background: The global impact of COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect the lives of billions of people with recurrent waves. Healthcare systems are struggling to manage pre-existing patient care and recurring covid-19 demands. As a result, we evaluated the mental health impact using systematic review and meta-analysis. Methods: A comprehensive search was undertaken from April 2020 to 22nd January 2021 using multiple electronic databases. A systematic review protocol was developed and published on PROSPERO registration; CRD42020181481. A random-effects model was used to compute pooled estimates of anxiety, depression, PTSD, insomnia and suicidal thoughts. Findings: Our search yielded 11,295 studies and of those 287 met the inclusion criteria. The meta-analysis of 206 studies revealed minimal differences in prevalence of anxiety, depression, and PTSD among HCPs compared with the public during the pandemic but higher prevalence of suicidal thoughts/ideation or self-harm (11% vs 5.8%) and lower prevalence of wellbeing (28.2% vs 52.6%) among the public compared to HCPs. Interpretation: The pandemic has led to a high mental health burden especially amongst HCPs and higher suicidal ideation and lower wellbeing in general public which warrants further investigation and management globally. These findings highlight an emerging critical public health issue that requires urgent solutions.

Implications of the COVID-19 pandemic for people with bipolar disorders: A scoping review

“…BD is also a well-known risk factor for suicidality ( Dong et al, 2019 ), and the socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic might have increased suicidality in this population ( Banerjee et al, 2021 ; Phiri et al, 2021 ). However inconsistent data and ongoing debate exist on this matter, at least in the general population worldwide ( Pirkis et al, 2021 ).…”

The next pandemic: impact of COVID-19 in mental healthcare assistance in a nationwide epidemiological study

“…These stressors have been associated with an increased incidence of mental disorders and worsening of pre-existing psychiatric conditions [ 3 ]. In this sense, it has been suggested that concurrent to the COVID-19 pandemic there is a psychiatric epidemic with wider, longer, and still unexpected consequences [ 2 , 4 , 5 ].…”

Depression, anxiety and suicidal behaviour among college students: Comparisons pre-COVID-19 and during the pandemic

“…Preliminary, cross-sectional findings from around the globe indicate a high prevalence of mental health concerns in response to COVID-19, particularly in the initial stages of the pandemic (C. Wang et al,2020 ; Xiong et al 2020 ). In fact, a recent meta-analysis examining data from ten countries, suggests the prevalence of anxiety, depression, and stress to be as high as 32%, 34%, and 30%, respectively, while another implied the prevalence of suicidal ideation to be 11% ( Salari et al, 2020 , Phiri et al, 2021 ), however, few longitudinal studies have been conducted which include data collected prior to the onset of the pandemic.…”