A Systematic Review of Infodemic Effects on Mental Health in the COVID-19 Crisis

Context: Infodemic in the COVID-19 pandemic is referred to as too much information about this disease that spreads quickly. This information can cause various psychological consequences for people. This systematic review studied the effect of the infodemic on individuals’ mental health in the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: The principles of PRISMA were used to conduct this systematic review. Data were selected using a search strategy in the WOS, PubMed, and Scopus databases on December 31, 2021. The inclusion criteria comprised English-language original articles relevant to the study’s purpose. We excluded all short articles, letters to the editor, conference abstracts, review articles, and any articles unavailable in their full texts. Results: Finally, 17 articles were selected. The results showed that the population of these articles was from China, Singapore, Palestine, Romania, Indonesia, Paraguay, Hong Kong, and Iran. These articles also included health professionals and medical staff (two studies), adults (three studies), citizens and the general public aged 16 or over (eight studies), students (one study), teachers (one study), and the elderly (two studies). The sample sizes varied from 126 to 5,203. Also, these articles examined mental health concerning anxiety (13 studies), depression (eight studies), stress (four studies), sleep disorders (two studies), emotions (two studies), panic, social isolation, and mental health in general. Conclusions: People more subjected to COVID-19-related information are more prone to psychological consequences and more exposed to anxiety, depression, and stress.