Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37587229›Full record

ArticleSocial psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology2024

Pandemic stressors and mental health indicators in eight countries.

Salma M Abdalla, Shaffi Fazaludeen Koya, Samuel B Rosenberg, Isaac B Stovall, Olivia Biermann, Zahra Zeinali, Gregory H Cohen, Catherine K Ettman, Sandro Galea

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In one paragraph

Article in Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
1.9field-weighted citation impact, top 15% 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

2 citing papers in PubMed, 6 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Loneliness, depression, and generalized anxiety across eight countries.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2026
    Article
  2. Hospitalizations with post-traumatic stress disorder in France between 2013 and 2022: a nationwide retrospective study.European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists · 2025
    Article
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

9 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.

Salma M AbdallaDepartment of Epidemiology, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, 02119, USA. abdallas@bu.edu.
Shaffi Fazaludeen KoyaDepartment of Epidemiology, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, 02119, USA.
Samuel B RosenbergDepartment of Epidemiology, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, 02119, USA.
Isaac B StovallDepartment of Epidemiology, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, 02119, USA.
Olivia BiermannDepartment of Global Public Health, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Zahra ZeinaliGlobal Health 50/50, London, UK.
Gregory H CohenDepartment of Epidemiology, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, 02119, USA.
Catherine K EttmanJohns Hopkins University School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Sandro GaleaDepartment of Epidemiology, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, 02119, USA.
Boston University · USGlobal Health 50/50Johns Hopkins University · USKarolinska Institutet · SE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeThe Covid-19 pandemic has exacted a significant physical, financial, social, and emotional toll on populations throughout the world. This study aimed to document the association between pandemic stressors and mental health during the pandemic across countries that differ in cultural, geographic, economic, and demographic factors.

methodsWe administered an online survey randomly in Brazil, China, Germany, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, and the United States from September 2020 to November 2020. This survey included questions on Covid-19-related stressors as well as the Patient Health Questionnaire-2 and the Primary Care PTSD Checklist to screen for depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, respectively. We performed bivariable and multivariable regression analyses to assess the prevalence and odds ratios of overall depression symptoms and probable PTSD and in relation to stressors across countries.

resultsAmong 8754 respondents, 28.9% (95% CI 27.5-30.0%) experienced depression symptoms, and 5.1% (95% CI 4.5-6.0%) experienced probable PTSD. The highest prevalence of depression symptoms was in Egypt (41.3%, 95% CI 37.6-45.0%) and lowest in the United States (24.9%, 95% CI 22.3-27.7%). The highest prevalence of probable PTSD was in Brazil (7.3%, 95% CI 5.6-9.4%) and the lowest in China (1.2%, 95% CI 0.7-2.0%). Overall, experiencing six or more Covid-19-related stressors was associated with both depression symptoms (OR 1.90, 95% CI 1.46-2.48) and probable PTSD (OR 13.8, 95% CI 9.66-19.6).

conclusionThe association between pandemic related stressors and the burden of adverse mental health indicators early in the Covid-19 pandemic transcended geographic, economic, cultural, and demographic differences between countries. The short-term and long-term impacts of the pandemic on mental health should be incorporated in efforts to tackle the consequences of Covid-19.

Indexed as

COVID-19Stress Disorders, Post-TraumaticAnxietyDepressionHumansMental HealthPandemicsUnited StatesCovid-19DepressionMental healthPandemic stressorsPTSD

Identifiers

PMID37587229
OpenAlexW4385858106

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.