SynthesisEuropean archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience2021
Mental health effects of infection containment strategies: quarantine and isolation-a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 130 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
130 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 248 citations in OpenAlex.
- The impact of self-isolation on psychological wellbeing in adults and how to reduce it: A systematic review.PloS one · 2025Pooled it
- Global Experiences of Community Responses to COVID-19: A Systematic Literature Review.Frontiers in public health · 2022Pooled it
- COVID-19 pandemic: health impact of staying at home, social distancing and 'lockdown' measures-a systematic review of systematic reviews.Journal of public health (Oxford, England) · 2021Pooled it
- A physical activity and socioemotional intervention for residents of a large vulnerable community in Brazil during the COVID-19 pandemic: a randomized controlled study.Frontiers in public health · 2025Trial
- Managing the COVID-19 pandemic in people with mental disorders: An exploratory telephone interview study in a psychiatric outpatient department.Comprehensive psychiatry · 2022Trial
- A mindfulness-based mobile health (mHealth) intervention among psychologically distressed university students in quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic: A randomized controlled trial.Journal of counseling psychology · 2022Trial
- Surviving SARS and living through COVID-19: Healthcare worker mental health outcomes and insights for coping.PloS one · 2021Trial
- The Impact, Role and Experiences of Nurses Working in Medical Quarantine During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Narrative Review.Nursing open · 2026Review
- Prevalence and influencing factors of insomnia among adults in centralized quarantine: A cross-sectional study.Medicine · 2026Observational
- Analysis on suicide risk in medical students, an analysis based on socio-formative conceptual mapping.Frontiers in public health · 2026Review
- Article
- Daily correlates to social distancing in U.S. young adults in 2021.Psychology & health · 2025Article
- Psychological distress across the deployment cycle: comparing pre- and peri-pandemic trajectories.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Regional COVID-19 measures and effects on subjective well-being in Germany: observing trends over time with data from a large population survey.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Article
- Anxiety and depressive symptoms among medical students-A scoping review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Psychosocial Impact of Quarantines: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Integrating mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) into infectious disease outbreak response: Results of an expert consensus study.IJID regions · 2024Article
- The ReCoDe addiction research consortium: Losing and regaining control over drug intake-Findings and future perspectives.Addiction biology · 2024Review
- The impact of UK social distancing guidance on the ability to access support and the health and wellbeing of disabled people during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative exploration.BMC public health · 2024Article
70 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, an unprecedented number of people worldwide is currently affected by quarantine or isolation. These measures have been suggested to negatively impact on mental health. We conducted the first systematic literature review and meta-analysis assessing the psychological effects in both quarantined and isolated persons compared to non-quarantined and non-isolated persons. PubMed, PsycINFO, and Embase databases were searched for studies until April 22, 2020 (Prospero Registration-No.: CRD42020180043). We followed PRISMA and MOOSE guidelines for data extraction and synthesis and the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale for assessing risk of bias of included studies. A random-effects model was implemented to pool effect sizes of included studies. The primary outcomes were depression, anxiety, and stress-related disorders. All other psychological parameters, such as anger, were reported as secondary outcomes. Out of 6807 screened articles, 25 studies were included in our analyses. Compared to controls, individuals experiencing isolation or quarantine were at increased risk for adverse mental health outcomes, particularly after containment duration of 1 week or longer. Effect sizes were summarized for depressive disorders (odds ratio 2.795; 95% CI 1.467-5.324), anxiety disorders (odds ratio 2.0; 95% CI 0.883-4.527), and stress-related disorders (odds ratio 2.742; 95% CI 1.496-5.027). Among secondary outcomes, elevated levels of anger were reported most consistently. There is compelling evidence for adverse mental health effects of isolation and quarantine, in particular depression, anxiety, stress-related disorders, and anger. Reported determinants can help identify populations at risk and our findings may serve as an evidence-base for prevention and management strategies.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.