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

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

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychiatry

VOLUME=15

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1305945

DOI=10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1305945

ISSN=1664-0640

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Introduction</title><p>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.</p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>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.</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>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 (<italic>p</italic>=.208). After controlling for multiple variables, all the following factors resulted in greater chances of poor sleep quality: female gender (OR, 2.12; <italic>p</italic>=.027), memory complaints (OR, 2.49; <italic>p</italic>=.074), insomnia (OR, 3.66; <italic>p</italic>=.032), anxiety (OR, 5.46; <italic>p</italic>&lt;.001), depression (OR, 7.26; <italic>p</italic>=.001), joint disease (OR, 1.80; <italic>p</italic>=.050), glucose intolerance (OR, 2.20; <italic>p</italic>=.045), psychoactive drugs (OR, 8.36; <italic>p</italic>&lt;.001), diuretics (OR, 2.46; <italic>p</italic>=.034), and polypharmacy (OR, 2.84; <italic>p</italic>=.016).</p></sec><sec><title>Conclusion</title><p>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.</p></sec>