The prevalence of anxiety and depression in cancer around the world: An overview of systematic reviews evaluating 128 meta-analyses

This overview of systematic reviews with meta-analysis summarized the prevalence of anxiety and depression in different types of tumors around the world. The quality of reviews was assessed. The degree of overlap between reviews was calculated. The regional prevalence of anxiety and depression was shown in the main text based on the World Health Organization regions. Twenty-five reviews including 128 meta-analyses of interest were selected. The pooled prevalence of anxiety in breast tumors was in Africa (19 %), the Americas (38 %), Eastern Mediterranean (56 %), Europe (38 %), South-East Asia (42 %), and Western Pacific (26 %). The pooled prevalence of depression in breast tumors was in Africa (40 %), the Americas (23–25 %), Eastern Mediterranean (49–51 %), Europe (27–29 %), South-East Asia (23–33 %), Western Pacific (29 %). The pooled prevalence of depression in digestive tumors was in the Americas (4–44 %), Eastern Mediterranean (42 %), Europe (20–27 %), South-East Asia (66 %), and Western Pacific (24–40 %). The pooled national prevalence of anxiety and depression was mainly evaluated in China and Iran. Important methodological issues were identified. For example, no reviews judged the certainty of evidence. The Eastern Mediterranean region showed the highest prevalence of anxiety and depression for breast tumors. The South-East Asian region showed the highest prevalence of depression for digestive tumors. In these regions, many countries are considered low-income and middle-income countries. Further research funding would help increase the investigation on this topic, which may allow the development of preventive strategies that reduce the prevalence of anxiety and depression.