Prevalence of Depression During the COVID-19 Outbreak: A Meta-analysis of Community-based Studies

Overview

Journal Int J Clin Health Psychol

Specialty Psychology

Date 2020 Sep 9

PMID 32904715

Citations 380

Authors

Juan Bueno-Notivol

Patricia Gracia-Garcia

Beatriz Olaya

Isabel Lasheras

Raul Lopez-Anton

Javier Santabarbara

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

: COVID-19 pandemic, declared on March 11, 2020, constitute an extraordinary health, social and economic global challenge. The impact on people's mental health is expected to be high. This paper sought to systematically review community-based studies on depression conducted during the COVID-19 and estimate the pooled prevalence of depression. : We searched for cross-sectional, community-based studies listed on PubMed or Web of Science from January 1, 2020 to May 8, 2020 that reported prevalence of depression. A random effect model was used to estimate the pooled proportion of depression. : A total of 12 studies were included in the meta-analysis, with prevalence rates of depression ranging from 7.45% to 48.30%. The pooled prevalence of depression was 25% (95% CI: 18% - 33%), with significant heterogeneity between studies ( = 99.60%, < .001). : Compared with a global estimated prevalence of depression of 3.44% in 2017, our pooled prevalence of 25% appears to be 7 times higher, thus suggesting an important impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on people's mental health. Addressing mental health during and after this global health crisis should be placed into the international and national public health agenda to improve citizens' wellbeing.

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