Mental health among the general population and healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: A meta-analysis of well-being and psychological distress prevalence

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has constituted a global health crisis that has threatened the mental health of individuals worldwide. The present paper sought to systematically review and meta-analyze studies reporting the prevalence during the COVID-19 pandemic of well-being and psychological distress as defined by the dual-continua model, which includes (absence of) psychological distress and (presence of) well-being among the general population and healthcare workers. Systematic searches were conducted in various databases: PubMed, PsycINFO, Scopus, and Web of Science from inception until 6 December 2020. From a total of 158 studies (N = 880,352) included in the meta-analysis, only seven reported the prevalence of well-being. A random-effect model was used to estimate the pooled prevalence among the general population and healthcare workers on depression (25%; 31%), anxiety (27%; 31%), stress (35%; 32%), and well-being (52%; 45%), respectively. Sub-group analyses based on region, income, percentage of women, preparedness of country to respond to COVID-19, and economic vulnerabilities were conducted in order to examine sources of heterogeneity in psychological distress. Results revealed differences among the two groups and indicated that disparities in terms of preparedness to fight the pandemic can distinctly affect mental health in the general population and healthcare workers. Addressing mental health during and after a health crisis should be in the spotlight of the international and national public health agenda. Considering the protective role of well-being to minimize psychological symptoms, mental health policies during the COVID-19 should include strategies to combat the psychological consequences of the pandemic by promoting well-being practices.

Could mindfulness diminish mental health disorders? The serial mediating role of self-compassion and psychological well-being

“…Self-compassion can help university students deal with their mental health disorders while also helping them increase their psychological well-being. This finding is consistent with previous research investigating the relationships of self-compassion and psychological well-being as protective factors in terms of mental health (Blasco-Belled et al, 2022 ; Neff & McGehee, 2010 ) with psychological distress (Fong & Loi, 2016 ; Hatun & Kurtça, 2022 ; Jiménez et al, 2020 ) or symptoms (Blasco-Belled et al, 2022 ), and also with sleep quality, emotional distress, and mental well-being (Rakhimov et al, 2022 ). In the existing literature, it is noted that there is, regardless of age, a positive association between self-compassion and psychology well-being (Fong & Loi, 2016 ; Hatun & Kurtça, 2022 ; Neff & McGehee, 2010 ) between self-compassion and sleep quality, which in turn helps reduce anxiety and depression (Rakhimov et al, 2022 ).…”

“…In the existing literature, it is noted that there is, regardless of age, a positive association between self-compassion and psychology well-being (Fong & Loi, 2016 ; Hatun & Kurtça, 2022 ; Neff & McGehee, 2010 ) between self-compassion and sleep quality, which in turn helps reduce anxiety and depression (Rakhimov et al, 2022 ). The extant literature also indicates a negative relationship between self-compassion and distress (Fong & Loi, 2016 ) and between psychological well-being and psychological symptoms (Blasco-Belled et al, 2022 ). Therefore, in line with previous studies, this research demonstrates that individuals with high levels of self-compassion experience higher levels of psychological well-being, which in turn decrease mental health disorders.…”

Risk factors for worsening of somatic symptom burden in a prospective cohort during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Over the period of data collection from spring 2020 until the beginning of 2022, both psychological and somatic symptom burden increased significantly in our sample. Publications of data collected early in the pandemic reported deleterious effects on mental health with significantly higher levels of depression and anxiety than pre-pandemic estimates in the general population (Ettman et al, 2020 ; Pierce et al, 2020 ; Nochaiwong et al, 2021 ; Blasco-Belled et al, 2022 ) and in samples of healthcare professionals (Pappa et al, 2020 ; Bekele and Hajure, 2021 ; Hao et al, 2021 ; Blasco-Belled et al, 2022 ). In contrast, some later studies suggest that after an initial peak, psychological distress gradually declined over time until almost returning to baseline levels by mid-2020 (Fancourt et al, 2021 ; Aknin et al, 2022 ; Robinson et al, 2022 ).…”

Mental health in Austrian psychotherapists during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…The outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in early 2020 became not only a global threat to physical health but also negatively affected people's mental wellbeing in different communities (1). Studies reported 2-8 times increased rates of depression, anxiety, insomnia, and stress among the general population since the COVID-19 pandemic (1)(2)(3)(4). Healthcare workers seem even more burdened than the general population (5,6), being not only vulnerable to experiencing physical exhaustion due to the extremely high workloads (7).…”