The COVID-19 pandemic had a disproportionate impact on ethnic minorities in the UK. It stands to reason that this greater vulnerability to COVID-19 would worsen mental health outcomes among ethnic minority groups. This meta-analysis sought to assess (1) whether there was a statistically significant difference in the prevalence of mental health symptoms between ethnic minority and majority groups during the COVID-19 pandemic; (2) explanatory factors associated with ill mental health for persons from ethnic minority groups; and (3) the proportional representation of ethnic minorities in quantitative mental health research. The author conducted a systematic search limited to peer-reviewed literature published between 11 March 2020 and 1 December 2022 across three databases: CINAHL Complete, MEDLINE and PsycINFO. Five cross-sectional studies met the inclusion criteria. Pooled effect size estimates from random effects meta-analysis provided evidence for elevated ill-mental health in nonwhite and ethnic minority populations, although not to a statistically significant degree. Covariate analysis revealed minimal differences in mental health symptoms by ethnicity upon controlling for explanatory factors such as financial insecurity, loneliness, social support, key worker status and history of mental health or COVID-19 diagnosis, indicating that ethnicity does not supersede socioeconomic disadvantage as a predictor of mental health inequality. This meta-analysis strengthens the idea that the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated pre-existing inequalities, with the greatest mental health burden experienced by the most vulnerable, many of whom are from ethnic minority communities. Future research needs to provide data by more specific ethnic categories and focus on oversampling the most vulnerable in society to improve understanding of how the COVID-19 pandemic has widened inequalities.
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