The prevalence of anxiety and depression among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: An umbrella review of meta-analyses

Healthcare workers, who are at the forefront of the fight against COVID-19, are particularly susceptible to physical and mental health consequences such as anxiety and depression. The aim of this umbrella review of meta-analyses is to determine the prevalence of anxiety and depression among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using relevant keywords, data resources including PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane, ProQuest, Science Direct, Google Scholar and Embase were searched to obtain systematic reviews and meta-analyses reporting the prevalence of anxiety and depression among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic from the beginning of January to the end of October 2020. The random effects model was used for meta-analysis, and the I2 index was employed to assess heterogeneity among studies. Data was analyzed using STATA 14 software. In the primary search, 103 studies were identified, and ultimately 7 studies were included in the umbrella review. The results showed that the overall prevalence of anxiety and depression among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic was 24.94% (95% CI: 21.83–28.05, I2 = 0.0%, P = 0.804) and 24.83% (95% CI: 21.41–28.25, I2 = 0.0%, P = 0.897), respectively. This umbrella review shows that the prevalence of anxiety and depression is relatively high among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Healthcare workers should be provided with resources to minimize this risk. •During pandemic, healthcare workers are susceptible to mental disorders.•Healthcare workers showed high prevalence of anxiety and depression.•Healthcare workers should be educated how to cope with mental health disorders.