The prevalence of psychological disorders among cancer patients during the COVID-19 pandemic: A meta-analysis

Purpose We aimed to assess the prevalence rate (PR) of depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), insomnia, distress, and fear of cancer progression/recurrence among patients with cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods Studies that reported the PR of six psychological disorders among cancer patients during the COVID-19 pandemic were searched in PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, and Web of Science databases, from January 2020 up to 31 January 2022. Meta-analysis results were merged using PR and 95% confidence intervals, and heterogeneity among studies was evaluated using I-2 and Cochran's Q test. Publication bias was examined using funnel plots and Egger's tests. All data analyses were performed using Stata14.0 software. Results Forty studies with 27,590 participants were included. Pooled results showed that the PR of clinically significant depression, anxiety, PTSD, distress, insomnia, and fear of cancer progression/recurrence among cancer patients were 32.5%, 31.3%, 28.2%, 53.9%, 23.2%, and 67.4%, respectively. Subgroup analysis revealed that patients with head and neck cancer had the highest PR of clinically significant depression (74.6%) and anxiety (92.3%) symptoms. Stratified analysis revealed that patients with higher education levels had higher levels of clinically significant depression (37.2%). A higher level of clinically significant PTSD was observed in employed patients (47.4%) or female with cancer (27.9%). Conclusion This meta-analysis evaluated the psychological disorders of cancer patients during the COVID-19 outbreak. Therefore, it is necessary to develop psychological interventions to improve the mental health of cancer patients during the pandemic.