The prevalence of psychological disorders among cancer patients during the COVID-19 pandemic: A meta-analysis

Abstract

Purpose: We aimed to assess the prevalence rate (PR) of depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), insomnia, distress, and fear of cancer progression/recurrence among patients with cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Studies that reported the PR of six psychological disorders among cancer patients during the COVID-19 pandemic were searched in PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, and Web of Science databases, from January 2020 up to 31 January 2022. Meta-analysis results were merged using PR and 95% confidence intervals, and heterogeneity among studies was evaluated using I2 and Cochran's Q test. Publication bias was examined using funnel plots and Egger's tests. All data analyses were performed using Stata14.0 software. Results: Forty studies with 27,590 participants were included. Pooled results showed that the PR of clinically significant depression, anxiety, PTSD, distress, insomnia, and fear of cancer progression/recurrence among cancer patients were 32.5%, 31.3%, 28.2%, 53.9%, 23.2%, and 67.4%, respectively. Subgroup analysis revealed that patients with head and neck cancer had the highest PR of clinically significant depression (74.6%) and anxiety (92.3%) symptoms. Stratified analysis revealed that patients with higher education levels had higher levels of clinically significant depression (37.2%). A higher level of clinically significant PTSD was observed in employed patients (47.4%) or female with cancer (27.9%). Conclusion: This meta-analysis evaluated the psychological disorders of cancer patients during the COVID-19 outbreak. Therefore, it is necessary to develop psychological interventions to improve the mental health of cancer patients during the pandemic.