A Systematic Review of the Prevalence of Anxiety Among the General Population During the Covid-19 Pandemic Publisher Pubmed



Pashazadeh Kan F⁶ ; Raoofi S¹ ; Rafiei S² ; Khani S¹¹ ; Hosseinifard H⁴ ; Tajik F¹⁰ ; Raoofi N⁹ ; Ahmadi S³ ; Aghalou S⁸ ; Torabi F¹ ; Dehnad A⁵ ; Rezaei S¹ ; Hosseinipalangi Z³ ; Ghashghaee A⁷
Source: Journal of Affective Disorders Published:2021

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has had an adverse effect on the mental health of population worldwide. This study was conducted to systematically review the existing literature to identify the individuals at higher risk of anxiety with a view to provide targeted mental health services during this outbreak. Methods: In this study, the studies focusing on anxiety prevalence among the general population during the COVID-19 pandemic were searched in the PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, Web of Science (WoS) and Google Scholar from the beginning of Covid-19 pandemic to February 2021. Results: 103 studies constituting 140732 people included in the review. The findings showed that anxiety prevalence was 27.3% (95% CI, 23.7%; 31.2%) among general population while the prevalence in COVID-19 patients was 39.6% (95% CI, 30.1%; 50.1%). Anxiety was significantly higher among females and older adults (p≤0.05). In addition Europe revealed the highest prevalence of anxiety 54.6% (95% CI, 42.5%; 66.2%) followed by America 31.5% (95% CI, 19%; 47.5%) and Asia 28.3% (95% CI, 20.3%; 38%). In the general population the highest prevalence of anxiety was in Africa 61.8% (95% CI, 57%-66.4%) followed by America 34.9% (95% CI, 27.7%-42.9%), Europe 30.7% (95% CI, 22.8%-40%) and Asia 24.5% (95% CI, 20.7%-28.9%). Conclusion: During the COVID-19 crisis, through identifying those who are more likely to be suffered from mental disorders at different layers of populations, it would be possible to apply appropriate supportive interventions with a view to provide targeted mental health services during the outbreak. © 2021 Elsevier Ltd