A systematic review of the prevalence of anxiety symptoms during coronavirus epidemics

Abstract

Coronavirus pandemics causes systemic and mainly pulmonary changes. We assessed the prevalence of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) in pandemic survivors and the general population. Papers indexed by MEDLINE/PubMed, The Cochrane, Embase, Lilacs, Scielo, Psycoinfo, and Pepsic databases were searched to April 2020, using GAD and Coronavirus (CoV) infection as keywords. Sixteen studies with 25,779 participants in eight countries were included. A 46% pooled prevalence of anxiety symptoms (95% CI 33.9–58.2%) was found with significant evidence of between-study heterogeneity (Q = 154953, I2 = 99.99%, p < 0.001). Age and sex were not found to be significant moderators for anxiety symptoms. Intervention programs for anxiety symptoms are highly recommended.