Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35842064›Full record

SynthesisJournal of affective disorders2022

The global evolution of mental health problems during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal studies.

Jude Mary Cénat, Seyed Mohammad Mahdi Moshirian Farahi, Rose Darly Dalexis, Wina Paul Darius, Farid Mansoub Bekarkhanechi, Hannah Poisson, Cathy Broussard, Gloria Ukwu, Emmanuelle Auguste, Duy Dat Nguyen and 8 more

Open access · greenAbstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Journal of affective disorders, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 84 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
84citing papers in PubMed, 4 pooled it
34.7field-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

84 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 188 citations in OpenAlex.

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  9. The Role of Worry and Emotional Intelligence in Depression in a Non-Clinical and Subclinical Sample.European journal of investigation in health, psychology and education · 2026
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24 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

18 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Jude Mary CénatSchool of Psychology, University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Electronic address: jcenat@uottawa.ca.
Seyed Mohammad Mahdi Moshirian FarahiDepartment of Psychology, Carleton University, Ontario, Canada.
Rose Darly DalexisInterdisciplinary School of Health Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Wina Paul DariusSchool of Psychology, University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Farid Mansoub BekarkhanechiFaculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Hannah PoissonFaculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Cathy BroussardSchool of Psychology, University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Gloria UkwuSchool of Psychology, University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Emmanuelle AugusteSchool of Psychology, University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Duy Dat NguyenSchool of Psychology, University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Ghizlène SehabiSchool of Psychology, University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Sarah Elizabeth FurykSchool of Psychology, University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Andi Phaelle GedeonSchool of Psychology, University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Olivia OnesiSchool of Psychology, University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Aya Mesbahi El AouameSchool of Psychology, University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Samiyah Noor KhodabocusSchool of Psychology, University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Muhammad S ShahFaculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Patrick R LabelleLibrary, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
University of Ottawa · CACarleton University · CA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic impacted mental health, but the global evolution of mental health problems during the pandemic is unknown. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal studies to evaluate the global evolution of mental health problems during the pandemic.

methodsTo conduct this systematic review, we searched for published articles from APA PsycInfo (Ovid), CINAHL (EBSCOhost), Embase (Ovid), MEDLINE (Ovid), and Web of Science. Longitudinal (at least 2 waves during the COVID-19 pandemic) and peer-reviewed articles on mental health problems conducted as from 2020 and after were included in the current study. Of 394 eligible full texts, 64 articles were included in the analysis. We computed random effects, standardized mean differences, and log odds ratio (LOR) with 95 % CIs. The meta-analysis protocol was registered with PROSPERO (CRD42021273624).

resultsResults showed that anxiety (LOR = -0.33; 95 % CI, -0.54, -0.12) and depression symptoms (LOR = -0.12; 95 % CI, -0.21, -0.04) decreased from baseline to follow up. However, other mental health problems showed no change. Higher prevalence rates (40.9 %; 95 % CI, 16.1 %-65.8 %) of psychological distress were found in months after July 2020, respectively, while there were no significant month differences for the prevalence of other mental health problems. Higher means of anxiety (d = 3.63, 95 % CI, 1.66, 5.61), depression (d = 3.93; 95 % CI, 1.68, 6.17), and loneliness (d = 5.96; 95 % CI, 3.22, 8.70) were observed in May 2020. Higher prevalence of anxiety, depression, and PTSD and higher means of anxiety, depression and loneliness were observed in North America. The prevalence of psychological distress and insomnia was higher in Latin America and Europe, respectively. LIMITATIONS: There is a lack of longitudinal studies in some parts of the world, such as Africa, the Caribbean, India, the Middle East, in Latin America, and Asia.

conclusionsResults indicated that anxiety and depression symptoms decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic while other mental health problems showed no statistical change. The findings reveal that mental health problems peaked in April and May 2020. Prevalence of mental health problems remains high during the pandemic and mental health prevention, promotion and intervention programs should be implemented to mitigate the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global population.

Indexed as

COVID-19PandemicsAnxietyAnxiety DisordersDepressionHumansMental HealthPrevalenceCOVID-19 pandemicLongitudinal studiesMental health problemsmeta-analysis

Identifiers

PMID35842064
PMCPMC9278995
OpenAlexW4285403726

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.