Evaluation of Sleep Quality in Patients with Covid 19

Factors disrupting the quality of sleep in patients with COVID-19 are considered one of the most important issues in the treatment of this disease. In this study, we aim to investigate the factors that disrupt the sleep quality of patients with Covid-19.

This cross-sectional study was conducted on patients with COVID-19 admitted to Kamkar Arabnia Hospital in Qom, Iran in 2021. The used instrument was the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Inclusion criterion was the diagnosis of COVID-19 (positive PCR) for at least two weeks. The patients with a history of neurological diseases during the past year, those were taking sedatives, patients with unwillingness to participate in the study, patients with a history of hospitalization in the psychiatric wards in the past 6 months, those with sleep disorders, and pregnant women were excluded from the study. Finally, all data entered into SPSS v. 22 software and were analyzed using Chi-square test, t-test and one-way ANOVA. Significance level was set at 0.05.

The mean age of patients was 52.76±14.84 years. It was found that 101 patients (50.5%) were male and 99 patients (49.5%) were female. The mean score of PSQI was 9.48±4.26. No significant relationship was found between patients in terms of age (P=0.32), gender (P=0.22) and PSQI score. A significant relationship was found between PSQI score and history of underlying diseases (P=0.02), but socioeconomic status (P=0.39), level of education (P=0.61) and occupation (P=0.29) had no statistically significant relationship with PSQI score. There was a statistically significant relationship between PSQI score and the disease severity and admission ward (P=0.00).

COVID-19 severity has a statistically significant relationship with sleep quality. Therefore, it is recommended to use relaxation methods and emotional support in the care programs of patients with COVID-19. Their sleep patterns should also be taken into account.