Prevalence of social anxiety during COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review and meta-analysis

The COVID-19 pandemic caused widespread disruption and increased concerns about mental health. One area of particular concern is social anxiety disorder (SAD), as the lockdowns and restrictions have made it difficult for people to engage in social activities. Studies show inconsistency in the prevalence rates reported in different studies, making it difficult to draw a clear picture of the situation. Thus, the study, first attempt to the best of our knowledge, investigates the overall prevalence of SAD during the COVID-19 pandemic. Following PRISMA 2020 guidelines, four academic databases including PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and ProQuest, in addition to hand search of reference list of included studies, yielded 338 initial studies, from which 16 were included in the systematic review and meta-analysis. The study found that prevalence of SAD during pandemic was 28% [95% CI: 0.12 to 0.50; I2: 99.6% [based on 16 included studies with 13,961 individuals. After removing seven studies identified as outliers, the pooled prevalence was found to be 34% [95% CI: 0.23 to 0.47; I2 of 93.1%]. No publication bias was detected. Sub-Group analysis suggested that only the prevalence differed significantly for WHO region sub-group. Additionally, moderator analysis was performed on study-level data, such as age, gender, and risk of bias but no significant changes were found. As the prevalence of SAD was considerable during Covid-19pandemic, mental health support during these challenging times is needed.