Long-term psychological outcomes among frontline healthcare workers following the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review

Table 4 Anxiety data, n (%)/mean ± SD

Ref.	Anxiety screening tool	Positive anxiety screen cutoff	Estimated anxiety prevalence	Anxiety survey score	Results of comparison
Azoulay et al[10]	HADS	≥ 7	492 (58)	median score 7 (IQR 5-10)	NCG
Cheng et al[11]	DASS-21	> 7	NR	6.92 ± 6.32	NCG
Yang et al[12]	SAS	≥ 50	NR	49.62 ± 11.9	NCG
Liu et al[12]	GAD-7	≥ 5	638 (30.8) (95%CI: 28.8-32.8)	NR	NCG
Liu et al[18]	SAS	NR	NR	51.5 ± 12.2	Mean SAS 69.6 ± 5.04 in 2022 vs in 51.5 ± 12.2 in 2023, P < 0.001
Giménez-Díez et al[19]	GAD-7	Dichotomous MH variable (no/mild vs moderate/severe); GAD-7 cutoff not provided	839 (80.3)	9.4 ± 5.7	OR for FL vs NFL 1.38 (95%CI: 1.00-1.90)
Xu et al[20]	GAD-7	Psychological symptom profile created: Low, moderate, and high level	1300 (62.1) low, 605 (28.9) moderate, and 189 (9) high	NR	NCG
Xie et al[21]	GAD-7	≥ 5	120 (56.9)	NR	OR = 0.67 (95%CI: 0.36-1.24), P = 0.20
Wang et al[22], 2023	SAS	≥ 36	1438 (65.1)	NR	NCG
Ding et al[25]	GAD-7	≥ 10	254 (18)	NR	OR for FL vs NFL 2.047 (95%CI: 1.68-2.24), P < 0.001
Yang et al[26]	SAS	≥ 50	61 (8.0)	51.4 ± 12.2	426 (52.3) in 2022 vs 61 (8.0) in 2023, P < 0.001
Çerçizaj et al[27]	DASS-21	Normal 0-7, mild 8-9, moderate 10-14, severe 15-19, extremely severe 20+	Mild 9 (3.1), moderate 25 (8.7), severe 3 (1), extremely severe 9 (3.1)	NR	OR for FL vs NFL 4.17 (95%CI: 1.6-10.6), P = 0.003
Hoseini-Marvast et al[28]	Beck anxiety inventory	Low 0-13, mild 14-19, moderate 20-28, severe 29-63	579 (65)	22 ± 13.4	NS FL vs NFL (data NR)

NCG: No comparison group; NR: Not reported; NS: Not significant; FL: Frontline; NFL: Non frontline; GAD-7: Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7; SAS: Zung Self-rating Anxiety Scale; OR: Odds ratio.