ReviewBMJ global health2022
Indirect effects of COVID-19 on child and adolescent mental health: an overview of systematic reviews.
Review in BMJ global health, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 30 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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
30 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 62 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effect of acceptance and commitment therapy for adolescent depression: a meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- Evidence linking COVID-19 and the health/well-being of children and adolescents: an umbrella review.BMC medicine · 2024Pooled it
- Outcomes Following a Mental Health Care Intervention for Children in the Emergency Department: A Nonrandomized Clinical Trial.JAMA network open · 2025Trial
- Psychometric Validation of the Slovenian Version of the Children's Automatic Thoughts Scale (CATS).Child psychiatry and human development · 2026Article
- Children's social connections, internet usage and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Global South: evidence from Disrupting Harm.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2026Article
- Prevalence and socio-ecological correlates of adolescent alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana use in the Turks and Caicos Islands.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Children's mental health symptoms over three decades (1993-2022): a comparison of population-based cross-sectional samples.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2026Article
- Paracetamol Overdoses Among Danish Adolescents: A COVID-19 Perspective.Acta paediatrica (Oslo, Norway : 1992) · 2025Observational
- Associations Between Mothers' COVID-Related Perceived Stress and Children's Internalizing and Externalizing Symptoms in Peru.Child psychiatry and human development · 2025Article
- Role of regular medical visits in mitigating increased suicide risk during the early COVID-19 pandemic in Kobe, Japan.BMC primary care · 2025Article
- Trajectories of emotional and behavioral problems in young children during the COVID-19 pandemic: A longitudinal study.PLOS mental health · 2025Article
- Myopia and daylight-A combination of factors.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Article
- Future time perspectives and concerns among adolescents in 2022.BMJ paediatrics open · 2024Article
- Nimble adaptations to sexual and reproductive health service provision to adolescents and young people in the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic.Sexual and reproductive health matters · 2024Article
- Psychometric Validation of the Slovenian Version of the Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale - Child and Parent Versions (RCADS and RCADS-P).Zdravstveno varstvo · 2024Article
- COVID-19 Pandemic Increases the Risk of Anxiety and Depression among Adolescents: A Cross-Sectional Study in Rural West Bengal, India.Diseases (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Changes in child and adolescent mental health across the COVID-19 pandemic (2018-2023): Insights from general population and clinical samples in the Netherlands.JCPP advances · 2024Article
- Article
- Annual Research Review: Sex, gender, and internalizing conditions among adolescents in the 21st century - trends, causes, consequences.Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines · 2024Review
- Evaluation of COVID-19 Effect on Mental Health, Self-Harm, and Suicidal Behaviors in Children and Adolescents Population.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionTo control the spread of COVID-19, mitigation strategies have been implemented globally, which may have unintended harmful effects on child and adolescent mental health. This study aims to synthesise the indirect mental health impacts on children and adolescents globally due to COVID-19 mitigation strategies.
methodsWe included relevant reviews from MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, LILACS, CINAHL, The Cochrane Library and Web of Science until January 2022 that examined the impact of COVID-19-related lockdown and stay-at-home measures on the mental health of children and adolescents. Data extraction and quality assessments were completed independently and in duplicate by BC and LH. A Measurement Tool to Assess Systematic Reviews-2 was used to assess the methodological quality.
resultsEighteen systematic reviews, comprising 366 primary studies, found a pooled prevalence of 32% for depression (95% CI: 27 to 38, n=161 673) and 32% for anxiety (95% CI: 27 to 37, n=143 928) in children and adolescents globally following COVID-19 mitigation measures. Subgroup analyses also uncovered important differences for both depression and anxiety by World Health Organization regions with few studies from Africa and relative high burden of anxiety and depression in the Eastern Mediterranean region.
conclusionsOur findings reveal a high prevalence of depression and anxiety in children and adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic, globally, compared with prepandemic estimates. These findings highlight the urgency for governments and policymakers to strengthen mental health systems in the COVID-19 recovery, especially in low-and middle-income countries where compounding psychological stress, access and affordability of care and discrepant reporting of mental health in this population remains a challenge. We also provide insight into how to alter mitigation strategies to reduce the unintended negative consequences for the health and well-being of children and adolescents in future pandemics. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42022309348.
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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.