Mental disorder prevalence among populations impacted by coronavirus pandemics: A multilevel meta-analytic study of COVID-19, MERS & SARS

Objective: Through a systematic review and meta-analysis of research on COVID-19, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and middle east respiratory syndrome (MERS) pandemics, we investigated whether mental disorder prevalence: (a) was elevated among populations impacted by coronavirus pandemics (relative to unselected populations reported in the literature), and (b) varied by disorder (undifferentiated psychiatric morbidity, anxiety, depressive, posttraumatic stress disorders [PTSD]) and impacted population (community, infected/recovered, healthcare provider, quarantined). Method: From 68 publications (N = 87,586 participants), 808 estimates were included in a series of multilevel meta-analyses/regressions including random effects to account for estimates nested within studies. Results: Median summary point prevalence estimates varied by disorder and population. Psychiatric morbidity (20-56%), PTSD (10-26%) and depression (9-27%) were most prevalent in most populations. The highest prevalence of each disorder was found among infected/recovered adults (18-56%), followed by healthcare providers (11-28%) and community adults (11-20%). Prevalence estimates were often notably higher than reported for unselected samples. Sensitivity analyses demonstrated that overall prevalence estimates moderately varied by pandemic, study location, and mental disorder measure type. Conclusion: Coronavirus pandemics are associated with multiple mental disorders in several impacted populations. Needed are investigations of causal links between specific pandemic-related stressors, threats, and traumas and mental disorders.