A systematic review of the prevalence of anxiety among the general population during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Background The COVID-19 pandemic has had an adverse effect on the mental health of population worldwide. This study was conducted to systematically review the existing literature to identify the individuals at higher risk of anxiety with a view to provide targeted mental health services during this outbreak. Methods In this study, the studies focusing on anxiety prevalence among the general population during the COVID-19 pandemic were searched in the PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, Web of Science (WoS) and Google Scholar from the beginning of Covid-19 pandemic to February 2021. Results 103 studies constituting 140732 people included in the review. The findings showed that anxiety prevalence was 27.3% (95% CI, 23.7%; 31.2%) among general population while the prevalence in COVID-19 patients was 39.6% (95% CI, 30.1%; 50.1%). Anxiety was significantly higher among females and older adults (p≤0.05). In addition Europe revealed the highest prevalence of anxiety 54.6% (95% CI, 42.5%; 66.2%) followed by America 31.5% (95% CI, 19%; 47.5%) and Asia 28.3% (95% CI, 20.3%; 38%). In the general population the highest prevalence of anxiety was in Africa 61.8% (95% CI, 57%-66.4%) followed by America 34.9% (95% CI, 27.7%-42.9%), Europe 30.7% (95% CI, 22.8%-40%) and Asia 24.5% (95% CI, 20.7%-28.9%). Conclusion During the COVID-19 crisis, through identifying those who are more likely to be suffered from mental disorders at different layers of populations, it would be possible to apply appropriate supportive interventions with a view to provide targeted mental health services during the outbreak.

Mental Pain, Psychological Distress, and Suicidal Ideation During the COVID-19 Emergency: the Moderating Role of Tolerance for Mental Pain

“…Because of the alarming effects of the pandemic and lockdown on mental health and suicide (Bueno-Notivol et al, 2020;Dubé et al, 2021;Kan et al, 2021;Xiong et al, 2020), the current study underlines the protective role of tolerance for mental pain in reducing psychological distress and suicidal ideation during the pandemic. Evidence-based public health interventions focused on tolerance for mental pain during a pandemic are needed in order to effectively reduce suicide risk and promote resilience among the general population worldwide.…”

“…A large body of evidence indicates that these restrictions, accompanied by the intense fear of severe illness, loneliness, financial problems, and uncertainty over the course of the pandemic, have profound adverse mental health implications (Bakioğlu et al, 2020;Besser et al, 2020;Brooks et al, 2020;Daly & Robinson, 2021;Landi et al, 2020b;Pakenham et al, 2020). Meta-analyses of community-based studies revealed a pooled prevalence of 18-33% of depressive symptoms (Bueno-Notivol et al, 2020) and 24-31% of anxiety symptoms (Kan et al, 2021) during the first months of the COVID-19 emergency. A systematic review, Xiong and colleagues (2020) further reported an increase in rates of psychological distress following the emergence of the pandemic among the general population in countries such as China, Spain, Italy, the USA, Turkey, Nepal, and Denmark (Xiong et al, 2020).…”

Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Consumers’ Impulse Buying: The Moderating Role of Moderate Thinking

“…To answer the research questions in this study, we developed a moderated mediation model to explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on impulse buying and tested the relevant hypotheses through three experiments. Specifically, the COVID-19 pandemic as an external threat has caused consumers more anxiety, stress, and a reduced sense of control [ 14 , 15 ]. For this reason, they have needed a way to cope with external threats [ 16 ], such as impulse buying.…”

The Depression Anxiety Stress Scale 21: Development and Validation of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale 8-item in Psychiatric Patients and the General Public for Easier Mental Health Measurement in a Post-COVID-19 World

“…Depressive and anxiety disorders are widespread in the general population, especially during the current COVID-19 pandemic [1], and in a wide-range of patient populations [2][3][4][5]. They are also highly co-morbid with one another [6][7][8].…”