Investigating the Prevalence of COVID-19 Among the Armed Forces and Its Impact on Their Mental Health: Systematic Review

Background and Aim: During the Covid-19 epidemic, the armed forces and medical personnel, took direct action against the disease and served the people. It is possible that these forces and their mental health were affected by the outbreak of this disease. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of COVID-19 among the armed forces and its impact on their mental health. Methods: This study is a systematic review based on the MOOSE checklist. This study thoroughly reviewed related articles in valid databases from 2019 to 2021. In order to extract the required data, the titles, abstracts, results, and all texts of the articles have been reviewed. In order to evaluate the quality of the reviewed articles, the JBI checklist was used. Finally, 15 articles were reviewed based on the purpose of the study and keyword search. Results: According to the articles, COVID-19 has been highly prevalent among military personnel, while it was not prevalent among Navy personnel. Factors such as inadequate training and poor nutritional status have led to the spread of COVID-19 among armed forces personnel. Furthermore, the mental health of armed forces personnel has also been affected by the outbreak of COVID-19. Depression and anxiety have increased among this military personnel, especially physicians and military veterans. COVID-19 obsession has increased the fear, anxiety, stress, and depression of the armed forces. The duration of sleep and its quality, type of occupation, and age were among the factors that affected the mental health of military personnel during the COVID-19 epidemic. Conclusion: The spread of COVID-19 among the armed forces can be prevented by taking appropriate initial control measures, training armed forces personnel, and paying attention to personnel's environment and nutrition status. To some extent by conducting psychometric tests of Armed Forces personnel, the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on personnel's mental health can be prevented.