SynthesisJournal of affective disorders2022
The global prevalence of depression and anxiety among doctors during the covid-19 pandemic: Systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Journal of affective disorders, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 44 papers, 9 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
44 citing papers in PubMed, 9 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 114 citations in OpenAlex.
- Indicators associated with job morale of physicians in low- and middle-income countries during the COVID- 19 pandemic: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC health services research · 2025Pooled it
- An umbrella review of the prevalence of depression during the COVID-19 pandemic: Call to action for post-COVID-19 at the global level.BMC public health · 2024Pooled it
- Estimation of the prevalence of anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic: A meta-analysis of meta-analyses.BMC public health · 2024Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Melatonin or its analogs as premedication to prevent emergence agitation in children: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC anesthesiology · 2023Pooled it
- COVID-19 and common mental health symptoms in the early phase of the pandemic: An umbrella review of the evidence.PLoS medicine · 2023Pooled it
- Anxiety Linked to COVID-19: A Systematic Review Comparing Anxiety Rates in Different Populations.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- Prevalence of anxiety, depressive and insomnia symptoms among the different groups of people during COVID-19 pandemic: An overview of systematic reviews and meta-analyses.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Burnout and Depression of Medical Faculty: After Mass Resignation of Junior Doctors in Korea.Journal of Korean medical science · 2026Article
- Suicide probability among physicians: an explainable machine learning analysis of depression, burnout, anxiety, and coping styles.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Article
- Perceived Stress Among Medical Doctors Working in Nepal: An Observational Study.JNMA; journal of the Nepal Medical Association · 2026Observational
- Burnout, depression, and medication errors among family physicians.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- A Comprehensive Review on Anxiolytic Effect ofFood science & nutrition · 2025Review
- Mental health, self-compassion, and compassion fatigue in physicians: a cross-sectional study.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- A simulation-based network analysis of intervention targets for comorbid symptoms of depression and anxiety in Chinese healthcare workers in the post-dynamic zero-COVID policy era.BMC psychiatry · 2025Article
- [Mental distress of intensive care staff in Germany during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results from the VOICE study].Medizinische Klinik, Intensivmedizin und Notfallmedizin · 2025Article
- A mixed method exploration of job morale of physicians working in public healthcare settings in Kazakhstan during the COVID-19 pandemic.Journal of health, population, and nutrition · 2025Article
- Prevalence and correlates of depression, anxiety, and burnout among physicians and postgraduate medical trainees: a scoping review of recent literature.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Suicide risk factors among Lithuanian medical doctors and residents.Archives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThis review provides an estimate of the global prevalence of depression and anxiety symptoms among doctors, based on analysis of evidence from the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.
methodsA systematic review was conducted to identify suitable studies. Final searches were conducted on 3rd March 2021. Papers were initially screened by title and abstract, based on pre-agreed inclusion criteria, followed by full-text review of eligible studies. Risk of bias was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Checklist for Prevalence Studies. Data from studies rated as low or medium risk of bias were pooled using a random-effects meta-analysis. Sensitivity and subgroup analyses were conducted to explore heterogeneity.
resultsFifty-five studies were included after full-text review. Of these, thirty studies were assessed as low or medium risk of bias and were included in primary analyses. These comprised twenty-six studies of depression (31,447 participants) and thirty studies of anxiety (33,281 participants). Pooled prevalence of depression and anxiety was 20.5% (95% CI 16.0%-25.3%) and 25.8% (95% CI 20.4%-31.5%) respectively.
interpretationEvidence from the first year of the pandemic suggests that a significant proportion of doctors are experiencing high levels of symptoms of depression and anxiety, although not conclusively more so than pre-pandemic levels. Differences in study methodology and variation in job demands may account for some of the observed heterogeneity. LIMITATIONS: Findings must be interpreted with caution due to the high heterogeneity and moderate risk of bias evident in the majority of included studies.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.