Living Systematic Review of Mental Health in COVID-19

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19)

COVID-19 is a serious health threat, and the situation is evolving daily. The risk will vary between and within communities.

 

Mental health during the current COVID-19 outbreak may be negatively affected by fear of long-term personal, social, and societal implications of the crisis and from isolation due to social distancing and movement restrictions that have been put into place

What are living systematic reviews

Living systematic reviews are systematic reviews that are continually updated and provide ongoing access to results via online publication. They are logistically challenging, but would be expected to provide value beyond conventional systematic reviews in situations where (1) important decisions need to be made that merit the resources involved; (2) the certainty in existing evidence is low or very low, posing a barrier to decision-making; and (3) there is likely to be new research evidence emerging that would inform decisions.This is precisely the situation in COVID-19.

Objectives of our living systematic review

The objectives of our planned living systematic review are to evaluate (1) changes in mental health symptoms among the same participants from pre-COVID or across delineated events during COVID-19 (e.g., outbreak announcement versus peak, peak restrictions on movement versus post-restrictions); (2) factors associated with levels or changes in symptoms during COVID-19, and (3) the effect of interventions on mental health symptoms during COVID-19.

Our protocol for living systematic review

Mental Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Protocol for a Living Systematic Review of Symptom Levels, Factors Associated with Symptoms, and Intervention Effectiveness  [PDF]. Available on the Open Science Framework [Check]. The living systematic review is also described in an editorial in the Journal of Psychosomatic Research [Check].

Expert Comments on Available Evidence

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 Continuous Update of COVID-19 Mental Health Evidence 

  Last update:  30 May 2020   

 Number of  Titles/Abstracts Reviewed

RESEARCH QUESTION 1: SYMPTOM CHANGES

To evaluate changes in mental health symptoms prior to and after a delineated event related to COVID-19

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Number of Articles to Undergo Full-text Review

74

Number of Fully Reviewed Articles

66

Number of Eligible Studies 

2

Number with Data Extracted

1

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RESEARCH QUESTION 2:

FACTORS

​

To evaluate factors associated with levels or changes in symptoms during COVID-19

​

Number of Articles to Undergo Full-text Review

267

Number of Fully Reviewed Articles

171

Number of Eligible Studies 

9

Number with Data Extracted

6

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RESEARCH QUESTION 3:

INTERVENTIONS

​

To evaluate the effect of interventions on mental health symptoms during COVID-19

​

Number of Articles to Undergo Full-text Review

20

Number of Fully Reviewed Articles

15

Number of Eligible Studies 

2

Number with Data Extracted

2

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31

Number of Eligible Registered Trials

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