Men’s mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic: a scoping review

Background: Mental health issues can be more severe in men vulnerable to isolation and loneliness during a pandemic because of social distancing and isolation measures. The purpose of this study was to identify current research trends and the impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on men’s mental health through a scoping review, and to make recommendations for improvements. Methods: This study conducted a scoping review to explore and analyze research trends on the effect of COVID-19 on men’s mental health during the period January 2020 to October 2021. The PubMed and CINAHL databases, as well as Google Scholar, were used to identify relevant studies. The two researchers individually reviewed the studies, and all references were reviewed to determine the final sample of included studies. Results: A total of 27 studies were included in the analysis. Of all the studies, 14 were descriptive, one was quasi-experimental, and six were qualitative. Remaining studies included four commentaries, one case study, and one review. COVID-19 was found to impact the following areas of men’s mental health at the individual level: psychological distress, addictive behaviors, sleep, well-being, cognitive function, and coping. At the interpersonal level, family outcomes, community belonging, and violence were impacted. At the social level, masculinity, inequity, and social service changes were affected. Intervention strategies for men’s mental health during COVID-19 recommended by these studies were also divided into three levels (individual, interpersonal, and social level). Conclusions: Efforts should be made to improve mental health services for men who may experience anxiety, depression, and anger, along with the physical health concerns of the COVID-19 era.

COVID-19; men; mental health; scoping review

[1] Kumar A, Nayar KR. COVID 19 and its mental health conse-quences. Journal of Mental Health. 2021; 30: 1–2.

[2] World Health Organization. Mental health and psychosocial considerations during the COVID-19 outbreak. 2020. Available at: https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/mental-health-considerations.pdf (Accessed: 20 February 2022).

[3] Bueno-Notivol J, Gracia-García P, Olaya B, Lasheras I, López-Antón R, Santabárbara J. Prevalence of depression during the COVID-19 outbreak: A meta-analysis of community-based studies. International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology. 2021; 21: 100196.

[4] Park HY, Park WB, Lee SH, Kim JL, Lee JJ, Lee H, et al. Post-traumatic stress disorder and depression of survivors 12 months after the outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome in South Korea. BMC Public Health. 2020; 20: 605.

[5] Lee AM, Wong JG, McAlonan GM, Cheung V, Cheung C, Sham PC, et al. Stress and psychological distress among SARS sur-vivors 1 year after the outbreak. The Canadian Journal of Psy-chiatry. 2007; 52: 233–240.

[6] Lee E, W, Kim W. After a year of COVID-19 pandemic, mental demic. Mental health pandemic warning! Issue & diagnosis (pp. 1–25). Gyeonggi Research Institute: Korea. 2021.

[7] White A, Taylor T, Cooper R. Social isolation and loneliness: A hidden killer. Trends in Urology & Men Health. 2020; 11: 31–35.

[8] Ogrodniczuk JS, Rice SM, Kealy D, Seidler ZE, Delara M, Oliffe JL. Psychosocial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study of online help-seeking Canadian men. Postgraduate Medicine. 2021; 133: 750–759.

[9] . Ellison JM, Semlow AR, Jaeger EC, Griffth, DM. COVID-19 and MENtal Health: Addressing Men’s Mental Health Needs in the Digital World. American Journal of Men’s Health. 2021; 15: 15579883211030021.

[10] Philpot SP, Holt M, Murphy D, Haire B, Prestage G, Maher L, et al. Qualitative Findings on the Impact of COVID-19 Restrictions on Australian Gay and Bisexual Men: Community Belonging and Mental Well-being. Qualitative Health Research. 2021; 31: 2414–2425.

[11] Marmet S, Wicki M, Gmel G, Gachoud C, Daeppen JB, Bert-holet N, et al. The psychological impact of the COVID-19 cri-sis is higher among young Swiss men with a lower socioeco-nomic status: evidence from a cohort study. Plos One. 2021; 16: e0255050.

[12] Santos GM, Ackerman B, Rao A, Wallach S, Ayala G, Lamon-tage E, et al. Economic, mental health, HIV prevention and HIV treatment impacts of COVID-19 and the COVID-19 response on a global sample of cisgender gay men and other men who have sex with men. AIDS and Behavior. 2021; 25: 311–321.

[13] Martin LA, Neighbors HW, Griffith DM. The experience of symptoms of depression in men vs women analysis of the na-tional comorbidity survey replication. JAMA Psychiatry. 2013; 70: 1100–1106.

[14] Czeisler MÉ, Lane, RI, Petrosky E, Wiley JF, Christensen A, Njai R, et al. Mental health, substance use, and suicidal ideation during the COVID-19 pandemic—United States, June 24–30, 2020. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. 2020; 69: 1049–1057.

[15] Cox DW, Ogrodniczuk JS, Oliffe JL, Kealy D, Rice SM, Kahn JH. Distress concealment and depression symptoms in a national sample of Canadian men: Feeling understood and loneliness as sequential mediators. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Dis-ease. 2020; 208: 510–513.