The prevalence of depression, anxiety, and sleep disturbances in COVID‐19 patients: a meta‐analysis

Evidence from previous coronavirus outbreaks has shown that infected patients are at risk for developing psychiatric and mental health disorders, such as depression, anxiety, and sleep disturbances. To construct a comprehensive picture of the mental health status in COVID‐19 patients, we conducted a systematic review and random‐effects meta‐analysis to assess the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and sleep disturbances in this population. We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, PubMed, Web of Science, CINAHL, Wanfang Data, Wangfang Med Online, CNKI, and CQVIP for relevant articles, and we included 31 studies (n = 5153) in our analyses. We found that the pooled prevalence of depression was 45% (95% CI: 37–54%, I2 = 96%), the pooled prevalence of anxiety was 47% (95% CI: 37–57%, I2 = 97%), and the pooled prevalence of sleeping disturbances was 34% (95% CI: 19–50%, I2 = 98%). We did not find any significant differences in the prevalence estimates between different genders; however, the depression and anxiety prevalence estimates varied based on different screening tools. More observational studies assessing the mental wellness of COVID‐19 outpatients and COVID‐19 patients from countries other than China are needed to further examine the psychological implications of COVID‐19 infections. The objective of this systematic review and meta‐analysis was to assess the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and sleep disturbances in COVID‐19 patients. Our findings suggest that 45% of COVID‐19 patients experience depression, 47% of patients experience anxiety, and 34% of patients experience sleep disturbances. A majority of the included patients were inpatients and patients from China. We did not find any differences in prevalence between patients of different gender, however, the prevalence of depression and anxiety varied depending on the use of different screening tools.