Mental health effects of COVID-19 pandemic: a review of published original articles

Background and objective: The Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCov) Disease (COVID-19) pandemic rapidly spreading around the world is profoundly impacting global health, particularly mental health. In this review, we discussed the mental health effects of COVID-19 Pandemic via published original articles retrieved through electronic databases. Methods: We reviewed 25 original articles related to COVID19 and mental health; these studies obtained from the general population, health workers, college students, and vulnerable population. Electronic databases, including, PubMed, PMC, and Google Scholar were searched for the relevant studies that have been conducted since the outbreak (December 2019). Results: Most of the literature review showed one-third of the total sample reported moderate to severe level of stress, anxiety, depression, fear, frustration, confusion, sleep disturbance, insomnia, insecure social support and stigma. The Overall prevalence of anxiety, stress and depressive symptoms was 28.8%, 16.5% and 8.1%, respectively. Further, findings revealed that during the COVID-19 outbreak, frontline healthcare worker, female gender and vulnerable population were at high risk of displaying psychological distress. Conclusion: Reviewed all original articles showed mild to severe levels of psychological distress in outgoing COVID-19 pandemic. Mental health interventions should be formally integrated into public health preparedness and emergency response plans.