Prevalence of posttraumatic and general psychological stress during COVID-19: A rapid review and meta-analysis

• Published in: Psychiatry research Vol. 292; p. 113347
• Main Authors: Cooke, Jessica E., Eirich, Rachel, Racine, Nicole, Madigan, Sheri
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Ireland Elsevier B.V 01-10-2020
• Subjects: Adult; Betacoronavirus; Coronavirus Infections - epidemiology; Coronavirus Infections - psychology; COVID-19; Female; Humans; Letter to the Editor; Male; Mental Disorders - epidemiology; Mental Disorders - psychology; Mental Health; Meta-analysis; Pandemics; Pneumonia, Viral - epidemiology; Pneumonia, Viral - psychology; Posttraumatic stress; Prevalence; Psychological stress; Rapid review; SARS-CoV-2; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - epidemiology; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - psychology; Stress, Psychological - epidemiology; Stress, Psychological - psychology; COVID-19; Psychological stress; Rapid review; Posttraumatic stress; Mental health; Meta-analysis
• ISSN: 0165-1781; 1872-7123
• DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113347

•Prevalence estimates of posttraumatic and general stress due to COVID-19 are greatly needed.•High rates of posttraumatic and psychological stress in the general population are reported.•Methodological quality among reported studies is limited and longitudinal research is needed.•Mental health resources should be mobilized to address stress due to COVID-19.
Emerging evidence suggests rates of posttraumatic stress and psychological stress in the general population are elevated due to COVID-19. However, a meta-analysis is needed to attain more precise prevalence estimates due to between-study variability. Thus, we performed a rapid review and meta-analysis of posttraumatic stress and general psychological stress symptoms during COVID-19. Electronic searches were conducted up to May 26th, 2020 using key terms: mental illness and COVID-19. A total of k = 14 non-overlapping studies were identified for inclusion. Random effects meta-analyses indicated that the pooled prevalence of posttraumatic stress symptoms and psychological stress in the general population was 23.88% and 24.84%, respectively. In both meta-analyses, the prevalence of stress symptoms was higher in unpublished compared to peer-reviewed studies. Overall, nearly one-in-four adults experienced significant stress due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Psychological resources and services must be allocated to help address the mental health burden of COVID-19. High quality, longitudinal research on the long-term mental health effects of the pandemic is greatly needed.