Ding W, Zhang Y, Wang MZ, Wang S. Post-pandemic mental health: Understanding the global psychological burden and charting future research priorities. World J Psychiatry 2025; 15(10): 109502 [DOI: 10.5498/wjp.v15.i10.109502]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Shu Wang, MD, Doctor, Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 119 South Fourth Ring West Road, Beijing 100070, China. wangshu.cn@outlook.com
Research Domain of This Article
Psychology
Article-Type of This Article
Review
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Psychiatry. Oct 19, 2025; 15(10): 109502 Published online Oct 19, 2025. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v15.i10.109502
Post-pandemic mental health: Understanding the global psychological burden and charting future research priorities
Wei Ding, Yuan Zhang, Min-Zhong Wang, Shu Wang
Wei Ding, Department of Public Health, Liaocheng People’s Hospital, Liaocheng 252000, Shandong Province, China
Yuan Zhang, Neonatal Center, Beijing Children’s Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Center for Children’s Health, Beijing 100045, China
Min-Zhong Wang, Department of Neurology, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, Jinan 250021, Shandong Province, China
Shu Wang, Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100070, China
Co-first authors: Wei Ding and Yuan Zhang.
Author contributions: Ding W collected the data, analyzed the data, and revised the manuscript; Zhang Y and Wang MZ designed the study, collected the data, analyzed the data, and revised the manuscript; Wang S designed the study, collected and analyzed the data, drafted the manuscript, and revised the manuscript; All the authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Shu Wang, MD, Doctor, Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 119 South Fourth Ring West Road, Beijing 100070, China. wangshu.cn@outlook.com
Received: May 14, 2025 Revised: June 19, 2025 Accepted: August 6, 2025 Published online: October 19, 2025 Processing time: 136 Days and 5.4 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has exacerbated global mental health disparities, disproportionately affecting vulnerable groups (e.g., healthcare workers, youth, and marginalized communities). Unique pandemic stressors (e.g., social isolation, economic instability, and long COVID-related neuropsychiatric symptoms) have created new risk pathways. Systemic barriers such as fragmented care, stigma, and digital inequities limit intervention scalability, especially in low-resource settings. Evidence highlights resilience factors (social support, adaptive coping) and urgent priorities: Longitudinal research on chronic outcomes, culturally adapted interventions, and policy reforms integrating mental health into primary care and digital platforms. This crisis demands equity-focused, multidisciplinary action to mitigate long-term consequences.
