The context of COVID-19 affected the long-term sleep quality of older adults more than SARS-CoV-2 infection

Vanessa Giffoni M N P Peixoto; Lucas Alves Facci; Thiago C S Barbalho; Raíssa Nascimento Souza; Alice Mendes Duarte; Katie Moraes Almondes

doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1305945

The context of COVID-19 affected the long-term sleep quality of older adults more than SARS-CoV-2 infection

Front Psychiatry. 2024 Feb 5:15:1305945. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1305945. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Vanessa Giffoni M N P Peixoto^{1

2}, Lucas Alves Facci³, Thiago C S Barbalho³, Raíssa Nascimento Souza³, Alice Mendes Duarte³, Katie Moraes Almondes^{1

4}

Affiliations

¹ Post-graduation Program in Psychobiology, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil.
² Department of Clinical Medicine, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil.
³ Department of Clinical Medicine Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil.
⁴ Department of Psychology, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil.

Abstract

Introduction: Sleep problems are one of the most persistent symptoms of post-COVID syndrome in adults. However, most recent research on sleep quality has relied on the impact of the pandemic, with scarcely any data for older adults on the long-term consequences of COVID infection. This study aims to understand whether older individuals present persistently impaired sleep quality after COVID-19 infection and possible moderators for this outcome.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional analysis of a longitudinal cohort study with 70 elders with 6-month-previous SARS-CoV-2 infection and 153 controls. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was used to assess sleep quality; Geriatric Depression Scale and Geriatric Anxiety Inventory for screening depression and anxiety. Demographics and comorbid conditions were collected.

Results: The mean age of participants was 66,97 ± 4,64 years. There were no statistical differences in depression and anxiety between groups. Poor sleep quality was found in 52,9% and 43,8% of the COVID and control groups (p=.208). After controlling for multiple variables, all the following factors resulted in greater chances of poor sleep quality: female gender (OR, 2.12; p=.027), memory complaints (OR, 2.49; p=.074), insomnia (OR, 3.66; p=.032), anxiety (OR, 5.46; p<.001), depression (OR, 7.26; p=.001), joint disease (OR, 1.80; p=.050), glucose intolerance (OR, 2.20; p=.045), psychoactive drugs (OR, 8.36; p<.001), diuretics (OR, 2.46; p=.034), and polypharmacy (OR, 2.84; p=.016).

Conclusion: Psychosocial burden in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and pre-existing conditions seems to influence the sleep quality of older adults more than SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; long-term; older adults; post-COVID syndrome; sleep quality.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This study was supported by Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - Brasil (CAPES) - Finance Code 001.