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Abstract
Background The COVID-19 has had an enormous impact worldwide and is still spreading. Globally confirmed infections have surpassed 41.1 million, of which more than 1 million resulted in deaths. Considering the relationship between public health disasters and emotional disorders, it is essential to examine psychological well-being related to this pandemic.
Method We performed a systematic search on psychological problems from PubMed to 10 October 2020, and conducted a meta-analysis using Comprehensive Meta-Analysis V.3 software.
Results The results showed a 19.4% and 26.8% pooled incidence for depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), respectively, during the SARS and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS)-related coronavirus outbreaks. However, overall prevalence of depression was somewhat higher at 27.0% during the COVID-19 period. The pooled incidence of PTSD during COVID-19 compared with SARS and MERS outbreaks, was lower, at 16.4%.
Conclusion The results suggest that there are shared and distinct psychological responses following SARS, MERS and COVID-19, and show pessimistic estimates of a wide range of potentially upcoming psychological problems.
- communicable diseases
- epidemics
- meta analysis
Data availability statement
All data relevant to the study are included in the article or uploaded as online supplemental information. The data used to support the findings of this study are included within the article.
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