A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Mental Health Symptoms during the Covid-19 Pandemic in Southeast Asia

Abstract

Aims: The Covid-19 pandemic has had a substantial impact on the mental health of the general public and high-risk groups across the globe. Southeast Asia, one of the first regions to be affected by the outbreak, is of particular interest given its proximity and close links to China, experience with recent epidemics (i.e. SARS), and the variable course of the outbreak in the region thus far. The aim of this study was to systemically review and assess the prevalence of anxiety, depression and insomnia symptoms in the general adult population, frontline and general healthcare workers (HCWs), and adult students in Southeast Asia during the course of the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic. Methods: Several literature databases (PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, Web of Science, and medRxiv) were systemically searched for articles published up to February 2021. Two reviewers independently evaluated all the relevant studies using pre-determined criteria and assessed the risk of bias for each included study. The prevalence rates of mental health symptoms were estimated using a random-effect meta-analysis model. Results: In total, 32 samples from 25 studies with 20,352 participants were included. Anxiety symptoms was assessed in all 25 studies and depressive symptoms in 15 studies with pooled prevalence rates of 22% and 16% respectively. Only two studies evaluated insomnia, whose prevalence was estimated to be 19%. The overall prevalence of mental health disorders was similar amongst frontline HCWs (18%), general HCWs (17%), and students (20%) whilst being noticeably higher in the general population (27%). Conclusions: The results indicate that a considerable proportion of participants report the presence of anxiety, depression and insomnia symptoms. However, the pooled prevalence rates in Southeast Asia are significantly lower than those reported in other meta-analyses from other areas such as China and Europe. This meta-analysis may provide valuable evidence for more targeted identification of mental health needs and guide future research of long-term outcomes. Keywords: meta-analysis; Covid-19; mental health; pandemic; general population; healthcare workers; students; anxiety; depression; insomnia

Prevalence of Psychological Impacts on Healthcare Providers during COVID-19 Pandemic in Asia

“…South-Eastern Asia showed the lowest prevalence of anxiety (6.6% to 49.6%) and depression (6.3% to 41%) but was unknown for insomnia since no data were available to review. A meta-analysis showed that the pooled prevalence of anxiety and depression in South-Eastern Asia was 22% and 16%, respectively [108]. Southern Asia had the lowest prevalence of insomnia (18.6% to 41.3%) and PTSD (2.1% to 7.3%) which was similar in a previous study [100].…”

“…This review proved that female healthcare providers showed a higher prevalence of all psychological impacts than males. A few reviews also showed similar findings [108,113,114]. The recommendation to include a gender perspective in the planning and designing support measures and intervention was widely documented.…”

Scientific evidence on mental health in key regions under the COVID-19 pandemic – meta-analytical evidence from Africa, Asia, China, Eastern Europe, Latin America, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Spain

“…The search generated 10 meta-analyses on mental health symptoms during COVID-19 from the six regions (Africa, Eastern Europe, Latin America South, and Asia and Southeast Asia nested within Asia) and four countries (China, Egypt, India, and Spain), as summarized in Table 1 (Chen et al, 2021 ; Chen, et al, In Press ; Chen et al, 2021 ; El-Qushayri et al, 2021 ; Hossain et al, 2021 ; Norhayati MY & Azman, 2021 ; Pappa, et al, in press ; Singh, Bajpai, & Kaswan, 2021 ; Zhang et al, 2021 ; Zhang et al, 2021 ). Table 1 tabulates these meta-analytical studies for easy comparisons.…”

Emotion and International Business: Theorising Fear of Failure in the Internationalisation

“…Fourth, future research is encouraged to research the fear of failure and the IP model by considering the COVID-19 phenomenon. COVID-19 has been last for 2 years which is associated with businesses risks ( Yue et al, 2020 ; Li et al, 2021 ) and mental health symptoms, i.e., a high prevalence of anxiety, depression, and insomnia ( Chen et al, 2021 ; Pappa et al, 2021 ; Zhang et al, 2022 ). Although COVID-19 has reached researchers’ attention on IB policy ( Van Assche and Lundan, 2020 ) and strategy ( Verbeke and Yuan, 2021 ), there is no IB empirical research that explored the fear of failure.…”

“…Globalisation of the world economy has created international opportunities. Nevertheless, taking the current international business (IB) environment into consideration, the global infection status of Coronavirus Disease-19 (COVID-19) had brought risks on economic activities ( Yue et al, 2020 ) and mental health disorders to individuals ( Chen et al, 2021 ; Pappa et al, 2021 ; Zhang et al, 2022 ). Internationalisation is instrumental to a firm’s survival and growth along with the potential for a positive effect on economic development ( The World Bank, 2019 ).…”