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Prevalence of anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms in children and adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review and meta-analysis

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Abstract

Aim

The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of children and adolescents is a major challenge in public health. Due to the importance of the problem the current study aimed to investigate the global prevalence of anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms in children and adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Subject and methods

This study followed the PRISMA guidelines and searched online databases (PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science) for observational studies published from January 2020 to December 2022 which determine the prevalence of anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms in children and adolescents (age ≤18 years) during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Results

Overall, 23.8% (95% CI 21.5–26.1; P < 0.001, I2 = 99.8) had at least one psychological disorder. North America 40.7% (95% CI 33.2-48.3; P < 0.001, I2 = 95.3) had the highest, and East Asia 20.2% (95% CI 17.4-22.9; P < 0.001, I2 = 97.6) had the lowest prevalence of psychological disorders. The pooled prevalence of anxiety, depression, and PTSD was 26%, 23%, and 23%, respectively. The highest prevalence of anxiety was seen in Europe (43.2% (95% CI 16.9–69.6; P < 0.001, I2 = 98.6)), depression in North America (35.4 % (95% CI 29.8-41)) and PTSD in Central and South America (60.3% (95% CI 57-63.6)) respectively.

Conclusion

Considering the high prevalence of psychological disorders caused by the COVID-19 pandemic among children and adolescents, it is necessary to consider public health interventions to prevent its long-term effects.

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Data availability

All data are available in the manuscript.

Code availability

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pars Advanced and Minimally Invasive Medical Manners Research Center, Pars Hospital, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Samieh Alizadeh

  2. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics School of public health, Tehran University of Medical Science, Tehran, Iran

    Shokouh Shahrousvand

  3. Health Research Center, Life Style Institute, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Mojtaba Sepandi & Yousef Alimohamadi

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  1. Samieh Alizadeh
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  2. Shokouh Shahrousvand
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YA and SA conception of the idea, data analysis, manuscript writing. Sh Sh and MS: searching, data extraction, manuscript writing. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Yousef Alimohamadi.

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Alizadeh, S., Shahrousvand, S., Sepandi, M. et al. Prevalence of anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms in children and adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review and meta-analysis. J Public Health (Berl.) (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-023-02168-w

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