A closer look to the high burden of the psychiatric disorders among health care workers (HCWs) in Egypt during COVID-19 outbreak: A meta-analysis of 3137 HCWs

El-Qushayri, Amr Ehab; Dahy, Abdullah; Reda, Abdullah; Mahmoud, Mariam Abdelmageed; Abdel Mageed, Sarah; Kamel, Ahmed Mostafa Ahmed; Ghozy, Sherief

Objectives: To study the prevalence of psychiatric disorders among Egyptian health care workers (HCWs) during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak. Method: We searched six databases for relevant papers. The quality of the included articles was measured by The National Institute of Health quality assessment tool. We used the fixed-effect model if there is no heterogeneity and the random model if heterogeneity exists. Results: After the screening of 197 records, we included 10 studies. Among all psychiatric disorders, anxiety was the most commonly reported psychiatric disorder among HCWs with a prevalence of 71.8% (95% confidence interval (CI): 49.4-86.9), followed by stress, depression, and insomnia, 66.6% (95%CI: 47.6-81.3), 65.5% (95%CI: 46.9-80.3) and 57.9% (95%CI: 45.9-69.0), in order. Regarding severity according to the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 Items, the moderate form was the most common type of severity in depression 22.5% (95%CI: 19.8-25.5) and stress 14.5% (95%CI: 8.8-22.5), while very severe form was the most common type of severity reported in anxiety comorbidity 28.2% (95%CI: 3.8-79.6). Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic has an unfavorable effect on the Egyptian HCWs' psychological wellbeing. More psychological support and preventive measures should be.