Table 2.
Outcomes from included studies by sex or gender.
| First author | Pre- and post-COVID-19 data collection | Sex or gender | N | Continuous outcome measure | Pre-COVID-19 mean (SD) | Post-COVID-19 mean (SD) | Mean (SD) change | Hedges’ g standardized mean difference (95% CI) | Dichotomous outcome measure | % Pre-COVID-19 (95% CI) | % Post-COVID-19 (95% CI) | % Change (95%CI) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anxiety symptoms | |||||||||||||
| Lim60 |
NR/2018–2019 03–04/2020 |
Females/Women | 295 | PROMIS Anxiety | 50.20 (11.50) | 50.40 (11.10) | 0.20 (10.10) | 0.02 (− 0.14, 0.18) | –– | –– | –– | –– | |
| Males/Men | 21 | 50.50 (9.90) | 48.60 (11.00) | − 1.90 (12.10) | − 0.17 (− 0.80, 0.45) | ||||||||
| Magson56 |
NR/2019 05/2020 |
Females/Women | 126 | SCAS-C | 5.55 (4.05) | 6.52 (4.31) | 0.97 (4.18) | 0.23 (− 0.02, 0.48) | –– | –– | –– | –– | |
| Males/Men | 122 | 3.63 (3.13) | 3.64 (3.16) | 0.01 (3.15) | 0.00 (− 0.25, 0.26) | ||||||||
| Rimfeld54 |
NR/2018 04–05/2020 |
Females/Women | 2,513 | GAD-7 | 8.15 (7.53) | 9.69 (7.69) | 1.54 (7.61) | 0.20 (0.15, 0.26) | –– | –– | –– | –– | |
| Males/Men | 1,050 | 5.88 (6.66) | 6.30 (6.58) | 0.42 (6.62) | 0.06 (− 0.02, 0.15) | ||||||||
| Saraswathi58 |
12/2019 06/2020 |
Females/Women | 139 | DASS-21 Anxiety | 4.59 (6.29) | 5.94 (6.93) | 1.35 (6.62) | 0.20 (− 0.03, 0.44) | DASS-21 Anxiety > 7 | 18.7 (13.1, 26.0) | 32.4 (25.2, 40.5) | 13.7 (4.4, 22.7) | |
| Males/Men | 78 | 4.62 (6.04) | 6.41 (7.50) | 1.79 (6.81) | 0.26 (− 0.06, 0.58) | 25.6 (17.3, 36.3) | 34.6 (25.0, 45.7) | 9.0 (-4.0, 21.5) | |||||
| Depression symptoms | |||||||||||||
| Lim60 |
NR/2018–2019 03–04/2020 |
Females/Women | 295 | PROMIS Depression | 50.80 (10.70) | 49.30 (9.80) | − 1.50 (9.30) | − 0.15 (− 0.31, 0.02) | –– | –– | –– | –– | |
| Males/Men | 21 | 50.70 (8.60) | 49.90 (9.70) | − 0.80 (8.20) | − 0.08 (− 0.70, 0.54) | ||||||||
| Magson56 |
NR/2019 05/2020 |
Females/Women | 126 | SMFQ-C | 4.77 (5.00) | 8.16 (6.46) | 3.39 (5.78) | 0.58 (0.33, 0.84) | –– | –– | –– | –– | |
| Males/Men | 122 | 2.81 (3.18) | 4.02 (4.76) | 1.21 (4.05) | 0.30 (0.04, 0.55) | ||||||||
| Rimfeld54 |
NR/2018 04–05/2020 |
Females/Women | 2,578 | SMFQ | 4.65 (4.20) | 4.81 (4.07) | 0.16 (4.14) | 0.04 (− 0.02, 0.09) | –– | –– | –– | –– | |
| Males/Men | 1,116 | 3.71 (3.70) | 3.33 (3.40) | − 0.38 (3.55) | − 0.11 (− 0.19, − 0.02) | ||||||||
| Saraswathi58 |
12/2019 06/2020 |
Females/Women | 139 | DASS-21 Depression | 7.71 (7.57) | 7.94 (8.77) | 0.23 (8.19) | 0.03 (− 0.21, 0.26) | DASS-21 Depression > 9 | 36.7 (29.1, 45.0) | 34.5 (27.1, 42.8) | -2.2 (-11.7, 7.4) | |
| Males/Men | 78 | 7.28 (8.40) | 8.54 (9.17) | 1.26 (8.79) | 0.14 (− 0.17, 0.45) | 26.9 (18.3, 37.7) | 37.2 (27.3, 48.3) | 10.3 (-2.9, 22.9) | |||||
| General mental health | |||||||||||||
| Dong57 |
09/2019 NR/2020 |
Females/Women | 3,162–3,277 | –– | –– | –– | –– | –– | SCL-90-R ≥ 160 | 19.7 (18.4, 21.1) | 27.9 (26.4, 29.5) | 8.2 (6.3, 10.0) | |
| Males/Men | 923–1,064 | 14.3 (12.3, 16.5) | 21.2 (18.7, 24.0) | 6.9 (4.0, 9.9) | |||||||||
| Megías-Robles53 |
11/2019 04/2020 |
Females/Women | 67 | PANAS-NA | 1.93 (0.65) | 2.28 (0.79) | 0.34 (0.86) | 0.46 (0.12, 0.81) | –– | –– | –– | –– | |
| Males/Men | 35 | 1.88 (0.67) | 2.11 (0.66) | 0.23 (0.66) | 0.34 (− 0.14, 0.82) | ||||||||
|
Pierce49 Daly50 |
Pre-COVID-19 Waves 04/2020 09/2020 |
Females/Women |
7,18122,b 6,380 |
GHQ-12 | 12.00 (5.91) | 13.60 (7.14) |
1.60 (6.55)c 0.88 (NR)d |
0.24 (0.21, 0.28) 0.13 (0.10, 0.17) |
GHQ-12 ≥ 4 |
24.5 (22.5, 26.4)e 24.5 (22.5, 26.4)e |
36.8 (34.8, 38.9)e 25.0 (23.3, 26.8)e |
12.4 (9.9, 14.9)e 0.5 (− 1.8, 2.9)e |
|
| Males/Men |
8,19522,b 4,538 |
10.80 (4.99) | 11.50 (5.75) |
0.70 (5.38)c 0.03 (NR)d |
0.13 (0.10, 0.16) 0.01 (− 0.03, 0.04) |
16.7 (14.6, 18.7)e 16.7 (14.6, 18.7)e |
21.1 (19.0, 23.3)e 16.0 (14.0, 17.9)e |
4.5 (2.0, 7.0)e − 0.7 (− 2.9, 1.5)e |
|||||
| Savage59 |
10/2019 04/2020 |
Females/Women | 154 | WEMWBSf | 43.00 (9.00) | 40.00 (10.00) | − 3.00 (9.51) | 0.31 (0.09, 0.54) | –– | –– | –– | –– | |
| Males/Men | 60 | 47.00 (9.00) | 44.00 (10.00) | − 3.00 (9.51) | 0.31 (− 0.05, 0.67) | ||||||||
|
van der Velden51 van der Velden52 |
03/2019 11–12/2019 03/2020 11–12/2020 |
Females/Women |
2,020 2,062 |
–– | –– | –– | –– | –– | MHI-5 ≤ 59 |
18.9 (17.3, 20.7) 19.1 (17.4, 20.8) |
18.3 (16.7, 20.1) 17.8 (16.2, 19.5) |
− 0.6 (− 2.5, 1.3) − 1.3 (− 3.1, 0.6) |
|
| Males/Mmen |
1,962–1,963 2,002 |
14.6 (13.1, 16.3) 14.7 (13.2, 16.3) |
15.6 (14.1, 17.3) 15.9 (14.4, 17.6) |
1.0 (− 0.8, 2.7) 1.2 (− 0.5, 3.0) |
|||||||||
| Stress | |||||||||||||
| Lim60 |
NR/2018-2019 03-04/2020 |
Females/Women | 295 | PSS | 17.50 (8.00) | 16.40 (8.20) | − 1.10 (6.60) | − 0.14 (− 0.30, 0.03) | –– | –– | –– | –– | |
| Males/Men | 21 | 17.70 (6.60) | 18.10 (6.80) | 0.40 (8.00) | 0.06 (− 0.56, 0.68) | ||||||||
| Saraswathi58 |
12/2019 06/2020 |
Females/Women | 139 | DASS-21 Stress | 6.95 (7.22) | 8.88 (7.99) | 1.93 (7.61) | 0.25 (0.02, 0.49) |
DASS-21 Stress > 14 |
19.4 (13.7, 26.8) | 22.3 (16.2, 29.9) | 2.9 (− 4.9, 10.6) | |
| Males/Men | 78 | 7.95 (7.54) | 10.08 (8.50) | 2.13 (8.03) | 0.26 (− 0.05, 0.58) | 23.1 (15.1, 33.6) | 29.5 (20.5, 40.4) | 6.4 (− 5.6, 18.2) | |||||
| Savage59 |
10/2019 04/2020 |
Females/Women | 154 | PSS | 21.00 (7.00) | 24.00 (7.00) | 3.00 (7.00) | 0.43 (0.20, 0.65) | –– | –– | –– | –– | |
| Males/Men | 60 | 17.00 (6.00) | 21.00 (7.00) | 4.00 (6.52) | 0.61 (0.24, 0.97) | ||||||||
| Shanahan55 |
NR/2018 04/2020 |
Females/Women | 378 | PSS | 3.02 (0.98) | 3.10 (0.94) | 0.08 (0.96) | 0.08 (− 0.06, 0.23) | –– | –– | –– | –– | |
| Males/Men | 408 | 2.57 (0.86) | 2.74 (0.86) | 0.17 (0.86) | 0.20 (0.06, 0.34) | ||||||||
DASS-21 Anxiety = Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale—Anxiety subscale; DASS-21 Depression = Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale—Depression subscale; DASS-21 Stress = Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale—Stress subscale; GAD-7 = Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7; GHQ-12 = General Health Questionnaire-12; MHI-5 = Mental Health Index-5; PANAS-NA = Positive and Negative Affect Schedule—Negative affect subscale; PROMIS Anxiety = Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System—Anxiety subscale; PROMIS Depression = Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System—Depression subscale; PSS = Perceived Stress Scale; SCAS-C = Spence Children's Anxiety Scale—Child; SCL-90-R = Symptom Check List-90 Revised; SMFQ = Short Mood and Feelings Questionnaire; SMFQ-C = Short Mood and Feelings Questionnaire—Child Version; WEMWBS = Warwick Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale.
aPositive Hedge’s g sizes and increases in proportions above a threshold indicate worse mental health in COVID-19 compared to pre-COVID-19. Effects for measures where high scores = positive outcomes were reversed to reflect this. b Number included in fixed effects regression analysis from where majority of data were extracted. cBased on difference between 2020 and 2019 outcomes. dBased on estimate from fixed effects regression model that estimates within-person change accounting for pre-COVID-19 trends.eIncluded proportion outcomes from Daly50 since they reported for two time points. f Higher scale scores reflect better mental health; thus, direction of effect sizes reversed.