Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33690641›Full record

SynthesisPloS one2021

Prevalence of depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder in health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Yufei Li, Nathaniel Scherer, Lambert Felix, Hannah Kuper

2 registry-linked trialsOpen access · goldAbstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in PloS one, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 283 papers, 17 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
283citing papers in PubMed, 17 pooled it
67.6field-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.

NCT06085105 nacompletednot on this mapstarted 2024, after this paper: background citation

Caring for Providers to Improve Patient Experience (CPIPE) Study: A Cluster Randomized-controlled Trial to Assess the Impact of the CPIPE Intervention on Person-centered Maternity Care

TypeinterventionalSponsorUniversity of California, San FranciscoRan2024 to 2026Enrolled6,379ConditionsStress, Psychological, Maternal Health, Healthcare Provider, Adverse OutcomesArmsCPIPE Training, Peer support groups, Mentorship, Leadership engagement, Embedded champions
NCT06496087 nacompletednot on this mapstarted 2022, after this paper: background citation

Evaluation of DEPREXIL Treatment in Patients With Clinical Depression Through Psychological and Neuroendocrine Assessment

TypeinterventionalSponsorCatalysis SLRan2022 to 2024Enrolled100ConditionsDepression, Post-COVID-19 Syndrome, Depression Mild, Depression ModerateArmsDEPREXIL
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

283 citing papers in PubMed, 17 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 537 citations in OpenAlex.

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  3. AI in Medical Questionnaires: Scoping ReviewJournal of medical Internet research · 2025
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  13. PTSD (Posttraumatic Stress Disorder) in Teachers: A Mini Meta-Analysis during COVID-19.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023
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223 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 1 institution in 1 country.

Yufei LiInternational Centre for Evidence in Disability, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom.
Nathaniel SchererInternational Centre for Evidence in Disability, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom.ORCID 0000-0003-1846-8691
Lambert FelixInternational Centre for Evidence in Disability, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom.ORCID 0000-0001-6517-9089
Hannah KuperInternational Centre for Evidence in Disability, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom.
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveThe COVID-19 pandemic has placed health care workers under psychological stress. Previous reviews show a high prevalence of mental disorders among health care workers, but these need updating and inclusion of studies written in Chinese. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to provide updated prevalence estimates for depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, benefitting from the inclusion of studies published in Chinese.

methodsSystematic search of EMBASE, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Global Health, Web of Science, CINAHL, Google Scholar and the Chinese databases SinoMed, WanfangMed, CNKI and CQVIP, for studies conducted between December 2019 and August 2020 on the prevalence of depression, anxiety and PTSD in health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Studies published in both English and Chinese were included.

resultsData on the prevalence of moderate depression, anxiety and PTSD was pooled across 65 studies involving 97,333 health care workers across 21 countries. The pooled prevalence of depression was 21.7% (95% CI, 18.3%-25.2%), of anxiety 22.1% (95% CI, 18.2%-26.3%), and of PTSD 21.5% (95% CI, 10.5%-34.9%). Prevalence estimates are also provided for a mild classification of each disorder. Pooled prevalence estimates of depression and anxiety were highest in studies conducted in the Middle-East (34.6%; 28.9%). Subgroup and meta-regression analyses were conducted across covariates, including sampling method and outcome measure.

conclusionsThis systematic review and meta-analysis has identified a high prevalence of moderate depression, anxiety and PTSD among health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Appropriate support is urgently needed. The response would benefit from additional research on which interventions are effective at mitigating these risks.

Indexed as

AnxietyAnxiety DisordersCOVID-19DepressionDepressive DisorderHealth PersonnelHumansMental HealthPandemicsPrevalenceSARS-CoV-2Stress Disorders, Post-TraumaticStress, Psychological

Identifiers

PMID33690641
PMCPMC7946321
OpenAlexW3133985703

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

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.