The effect of Covid-19 on the mental health of the people in the Indian subcontinent: A scoping review

Authors

  • Russell Kabir School of Allied Health, Faculty of Health, Education, Medicine and Social Care, Anglia Ruskin University, Chelmsford, UK
  • Ancy Chandrababu Mercy Bai School of Allied Health, Faculty of Health, Education, Medicine and Social Care, Anglia Ruskin University, Chelmsford, UK
  • Haniya Zehra Syed School of Allied Health, Faculty of Health, Education, Medicine and Social Care, Anglia Ruskin University, Chelmsford, UK
  • Md Rakibul Hasan School of Allied Health, Faculty of Health, Education, Medicine and Social Care, Anglia Ruskin University, Chelmsford, UK
  • Divya Vinnakota Department of Public Health and Nursing, University of Sunderland London, UK
  • Sujita Kumar Kar Department of Psychiatry, King George's Medical University, Lucknow-226003, U.P., India
  • Rakesh Singh Department of Research, Transcultural Psychosocial Organization Nepal (TPO Nepal), Kathmandu, Nepal
  • Brijesh Sathian Geriatrics and Long Term Care Department, Rumailah Hospital, Doha, Qatar
  • S.M. Yasir Arafat Department of Psychiatry, Enam Medical College and Hospital, Dhaka-1340, Bangladesh

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3126/nje.v13i2.52766

Keywords:

Indian subcontinent, COVID-19, pandemic, anxiety, depression, mental health

Abstract

Background: Indian subcontinent  has high mental heath burden and low resoueces to cope the mental health challenges. Assessment of impact of Covid-19 pandemic on the mental mental healthwould help to prioratize the resource allocations. We aimed to assess the impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of people in the Indian subcontinent.

Methods: We followed PRISMA guidelines and made a systematic serach in PubMed, Scopus, and Embase to identify the original studies assessing mental health conditions during Covid-19 pandemic in the Indian subcontinent.

Results: A total of 34 studies carried out between 2020 and 2022 was included in this review. The prevalence of anxiety disorders varied widely starting from 2.5% among residents of  urban slum in North India to 53% Bangladesh,  21.7% in Pakistan. The prevalence of depression also varied widely starting from 3.5% North India to 29.8% in Pakistan. The prevalence of stress related problem varied from 18.3% in Pakistan to 59.7% in Bangladesh. Female gender, married status, health care workers, and mental illness were the important predicotrs for anxiety and depressive disorders.

Conclusion: The impact of Covid-19 pandemic on mental health of people living in Indian subcontinent varies widely based on study population and methods.Therefore, a cautious interpretation is needed while generalizing the study results.

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Published

2023-08-31

How to Cite

Kabir, R., Bai, A. C. M., Syed, H. Z., Hasan, M. R., Vinnakota, D., Kar, S. K., Singh, R., Sathian, B., & Arafat, S. Y. (2023). The effect of Covid-19 on the mental health of the people in the Indian subcontinent: A scoping review. Nepal Journal of Epidemiology, 13(2), 1268–1284. https://doi.org/10.3126/nje.v13i2.52766

Issue

Vol. 13 No. 2 (2023)

Section

Review Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2023 CEA & INEA

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