Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Depression and Anxiety in the Middle East during the Covid-19 Pandemic

Depression and anxiety are the psychological problems that have intensified during Covid-19 and have affected the psychological well being of people. The purpose of this study was to systematically review the prevalence of anxiety and depression in Middle East countries.

In this review, we searched for studies aiming to estimate the prevalence of depression and anxiety during the Covid-19 pandemic among the general population in databases including Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, and Google Scholar from January 2020 to February 2021. We used the Comprehensive Meta-Analysis-2 software for data analyses and generated forest plots of the summary pooled prevalence.

In this systematic review, 55 articles with a total sample size of 28128 people were included. The pooled analysis of depression and anxiety amid the pandemic was estimated at 41% and 39%, respectively. Based on the study results, Iraq and Egypt had the highest prevalence rates of depression at 88% and 82%, respectively. Regarding anxiety, the highest and lowest prevalence rates were reported for Egypt with 91% and Qatar with 17%.

To effectively provide mental health services for people, particularly the ones who are suspected of higher risk of depression and anxiety, it is necessary to identify individuals who are more likely to be suffered from psychological problems.