SynthesisBMC public health2025
The prevalence of stress during the COVID-19 pandemic: an umbrella review.
Synthesis in BMC public health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Associations Between 24-Hour Physical Behavior, Self-Perceived Stress, and Coping Self-Efficacy in Everyday Life: Ambulatory Assessment Study.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2026Article
- Analysis of Influence of Experienced Stress and Emotional Eating on Body Mass in a Population of Polish Female Adolescents: PLACE-19 Study.Nutrients · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has caused widespread mental health problems, with stress affecting a large porportion of the global population. To provide a comprehensive understanding of the need for post-pandemic mental health services, this umbrella review was conducted to accurately estimate the prevalence of stress during the COVID-19 pandemic.
methodsWeb of Science, PubMed, Scopus, and Embase were searched for published meta-analyses using relevant keywords, such as prevalence, stress, COVID-19, and Meta-analysis up to January 1, 2025. Additional manual searches were performed in selected journals and through Google Scholar to identify further relevant articles. A random-effects model was used for the analyses. All analyses were conducted using STATA 17 software.
resultsOf 3697 records screened, 45 meta-analyses were included. The pooled prevalence of stress was 41% [95% CI: 36–45] with high heterogeneity (I2: 93.22%). The highest prevalence was observed in patients (56% [49–63]) and health-care workers (45% [38–52]). The prevalence of stress was higher in females (40% [18–63]) compared with males (27% [3–50]). In terms of severity, the highest percentage was related to moderate 29% [7–50], mild 24% [6–41], and severe 13% [5–21].
conclusionsStress was highly prevalent during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly among patients, healthcare workers, pregnant womens, and students. Policy responses should prioritize funding, advocacy and system-level interventions to mitigate the mental health impact of pandemics and strengthen resilience in preparation for future public health crises.
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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.