Prevalence of the most common psychological problems during coronavirus epidemics: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Introduction: There have been so far three noteworthy epidemics caused by coronaviruses: SARS, MERS, and COVID-19. We aimed to review prevalence of the most common psychological problems during these epidemics. Material and methods: We conducted systematic reviews and meta-analyses of studies. A comprehensive search was performed in electronic databases PubMed/MEDLINE, Web of Science, PsycINFO/ProQuest, SCOPUS, and Google Scholar. Two independent reviewers searched for all English-language articles on psychological problems during coronavirus epidemics published by February 2021. We used DerSimonion-Laird random-effects model to estimate the prevalence of psychological problems. We conducted subgroup analyses to analyze the source of heterogeneity. Meta-regression model was also used. Results: Eighty-eight eligible papers were included. The prevalence of the most common psychological problems was insomnia (27%), depression (24.8%), stress (22%), and anxiety (12.4%), respectively. Subgroup analysis indicated that healthcare workers were more likely to have the mentioned psychological problems compared to survivors and the general population. According to meta-regression analyses, study tools and study populations were identified as the most important sources of heterogeneity. Variability in study tools and study populations was attributed to a high level of heterogeneity. Conclusions: This study suggested that people during coronavirus epidemics were exposed to insomnia, depression, stress, and anxiety far more than other psychological problems.

Greater knowledge about COVID-19, more negative emotions. Research in adult Poles after 2nd and 5th waves of the pandemic

“…Both surveys showed the lowest ratings related to illness coherence, reflecting the ability to make sense of and cope with the pandemic. These findings suggest that mental representation of COVID-19 changed in some ways, and what is common to our results and those reported by others is the increase in knowledge about COVID-19, stronger sense of negative emotions and consequences of COVID-19 after several waves of the pandemic [4,31,[33][34][35][36]39]. Our findings are consistent with results reported in a longitudinal study [24], which showed that the highest level in the hierarchy of COVID-19 representations was occupied by a sense of negative consequences, while the lowest level was occupied by sense of personal control.…”

“…A negative emotional representation of COVID-19 may be associated with better compliance, but it may also perpetuate or even exacerbate mental health problems [34,38]. The increased confidence that the viremia can be controlled through medical interventions may be linked to the widely promoted knowledge related to COVID-19; it also reflects changes in Polish people's awareness related to the symptoms, diagnosis and treatments.…”

“…However, a meta-analysis [33] of research reports focusing on mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic showed that stress and mental burden in this case were comparable to war time experiences. The effects of the pandemic, observed after the consecutive waves, included increased depression, insomnia, anxiety and fear, and more severe symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) [22,[34][35][36]. Longitudinal research conducted in Europe in the frames of Living, working and COVID-19 program [37] showed improved well-being in 2022 compared to 2020 and 2021, but the positive change did not go back to pre-pandemic levels.…”