SynthesisBMJ (Clinical research ed.)2023
Comparison of mental health symptoms before and during the covid-19 pandemic: evidence from a systematic review and meta-analysis of 134 cohorts.
Synthesis in BMJ (Clinical research ed.), 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 140 papers, 12 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
140 citing papers in PubMed, 12 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 273 citations in OpenAlex.
- Mental Health Symptom Changes by Sex or Gender Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.JAMA network open · 2026Pooled it
- The prevalence of stress during the COVID-19 pandemic: an umbrella review.BMC public health · 2025Pooled it
- Research Review: The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of children and young people with pre-existing mental health and neurodevelopmental conditions - a systematic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal studies.Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines · 2025Pooled it
- Prevalence of anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder among paramedic students: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2025Pooled it
- The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Mental Health and Cognitive Function in Patients With Cancer: A Systematic Literature Review.Cancer reports (Hoboken, N.J.) · 2024Pooled it
- Prevalence, severity and risk factors of psychiatric disorders amongst sexual and gender diverse young people during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review.Clinical child psychology and psychiatry · 2024Pooled it
- Changes in the prevalence of mental health problems during the first year of the pandemic: a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis.BMJ mental health · 2024Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Association between the COVID-19 pandemic and psychiatric symptoms in people with preexisting obsessive-compulsive, eating, anxiety, and mood disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis of before-after studies.Psychiatry and clinical neurosciences · 2023Pooled it
- Changes in anxiety and depression during the COVID-19 pandemic in the European population: A meta-analysis of changes and associations with restriction policies.European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists · 2023Pooled it
- Impact of COVID-19 mitigations on anxiety and depression amongst university students: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of global health · 2023Pooled it
- A systematic review and meta-analysis of neuroticism and anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2023Pooled it
- Article
- Inpatient rehabilitation after acute injury or illness for patients with and without mental health disorders: service utilization, functional improvement, and pain.Journal of rehabilitation medicine · 2026Observational
- Supporting the IOC Consensus Statement on Mental Health in Elite Athletes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis on the Prevalence of Mental Health Symptoms in Elite Sports.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Article
- Distinct 24-hour movement behaviour profiles and their associations with negative affect among Chinese university students.BMC psychology · 2026Article
- Self-rated health and mental health before and during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany: the population-based German National Cohort (NAKO) study.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Experiences of Loss and Grief Among Brazilian Frontline Healthcare Professionals During the COVID-19 Pandemic Crisis: A Grounded Theory Analysis.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- The long-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental and psychiatric service utilization in Iran: a 7-year longitudinal study from 2017 to 2024.BMC psychiatry · 2026Article
80 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
Authors and funding
26 authors at 9 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo synthesise results of mental health outcomes in cohorts before and during the covid-19 pandemic.
designSystematic review. DATA SOURCES: Medline, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Embase, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang, medRxiv, and Open Science Framework Preprints. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR SELECTING STUDIES: Studies comparing general mental health, anxiety symptoms, or depression symptoms assessed from 1 January 2020 or later with outcomes collected from 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2019 in any population, and comprising ≥90% of the same participants before and during the covid-19 pandemic or using statistical methods to account for missing data. Restricted maximum likelihood random effects meta-analyses (worse covid-19 outcomes representing positive change) were performed. Risk of bias was assessed using an adapted Joanna Briggs Institute Checklist for Prevalence Studies.
resultsAs of 11 April 2022, 94 411 unique titles and abstracts including 137 unique studies from 134 cohorts were reviewed. Most of the studies were from high income (n=105, 77%) or upper middle income (n=28, 20%) countries. Among general population studies, no changes were found for general mental health (standardised mean difference (SMD)
conclusionsHigh risk of bias in many studies and substantial heterogeneity suggest caution in interpreting results. Nonetheless, most symptom change estimates for general mental health, anxiety symptoms, and depression symptoms were close to zero and not statistically significant, and significant changes were of minimal to small magnitudes. Small negative changes occurred for women or female participants in all domains. The authors will update the results of this systematic review as more evidence accrues, with study results posted online (https://www.depressd.ca/covid-19-mental-health). REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROSPERO CRD42020179703.
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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.