Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32763477›Full record

SynthesisPsychiatry research2020

Prevalence of posttraumatic and general psychological stress during COVID-19: A rapid review and meta-analysis.

Jessica E Cooke, Rachel Eirich, Nicole Racine, Sheri Madigan

Open access · greenAbstract readLetterMeta-AnalysisReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Psychiatry research, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 167 papers, 11 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
167citing papers in PubMed, 11 pooled it
28.2field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

167 citing papers in PubMed, 11 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 368 citations in OpenAlex.

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  8. Prevalence of post-traumatic stress symptoms among people influenced by coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak: A meta-analysis.European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists · 2021
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  19. Moral Injury and COVID-Related Stress Among Post-9/11 Veterans: Examining Longitudinal Associations.Stress and health : journal of the International Society for the Investigation of Stress · 2025
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107 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Jessica E CookeDepartment of Psychology, University of Calgary, 2500 University Dr. NW., Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4 Canada; Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, 2500 University Dr. N.W., Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4 Canada.
Rachel EirichDepartment of Psychology, University of Calgary, 2500 University Dr. NW., Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4 Canada; Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, 2500 University Dr. N.W., Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4 Canada.
Nicole RacineDepartment of Psychology, University of Calgary, 2500 University Dr. NW., Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4 Canada; Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, 2500 University Dr. N.W., Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4 Canada.
Sheri MadiganDepartment of Psychology, University of Calgary, 2500 University Dr. NW., Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4 Canada; Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, 2500 University Dr. N.W., Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4 Canada. Electronic address: sheri.madigan@ucalgary.ca.
Alberta Children's Hospital · CAAlberta Children's Hospital Research Institute

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Emerging evidence suggests rates of posttraumatic stress and psychological stress in the general population are elevated due to COVID-19. However, a meta-analysis is needed to attain more precise prevalence estimates due to between-study variability. Thus, we performed a rapid review and meta-analysis of posttraumatic stress and general psychological stress symptoms during COVID-19. Electronic searches were conducted up to May 26th, 2020 using key terms: mental illness and COVID-19. A total of k = 14 non-overlapping studies were identified for inclusion. Random effects meta-analyses indicated that the pooled prevalence of posttraumatic stress symptoms and psychological stress in the general population was 23.88% and 24.84%, respectively. In both meta-analyses, the prevalence of stress symptoms was higher in unpublished compared to peer-reviewed studies. Overall, nearly one-in-four adults experienced significant stress due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Psychological resources and services must be allocated to help address the mental health burden of COVID-19. High quality, longitudinal research on the long-term mental health effects of the pandemic is greatly needed.

Indexed as

AdultBetacoronavirusCoronavirus InfectionsCOVID-19FemaleHumansMaleMental DisordersMental HealthPandemicsPneumonia, ViralPrevalenceSARS-CoV-2Stress Disorders, Post-TraumaticStress, PsychologicalCOVID-19Mental healthMeta-analysisPosttraumatic stressPsychological stressRapid review

Identifiers

PMID32763477
PMCPMC7392847
OpenAlexW3045745830

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.