Sleep quality deterioration in middle-aged and older adults living in a rural Ecuadorian village severely struck by the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. A population-based longitudinal prospective study.

Abstract

This study assessed changes in sleep quality before and after the peak of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in community dwellers enrolled in the Atahualpa Project. Atahualpa residents aged ≥40 years were eligible if they had a Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) 9 months before the pandemic and a lateral flow-based test for identification of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies during the peak of the pandemic. Six months later, individuals completed a follow-up PSQI. The independent relationship between SARS-CoV-2 infection and deterioration in sleep quality was assessed by fitting logistic mixed models for longitudinal data. Of 639 participants (mean age at baseline: 59 ± 12.8 years), 325 (51%) had SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. A total of 185 (29%) individuals at baseline and 311 (49%) at follow-up were poor sleepers (p This study shows a deleterious effect of SARS-CoV-2 in sleep quality. An effect of SARS-CoV-2 in disrupting sleep-related pathways cannot be ruled out. The Atahualpa Project has been registered at ClinicalTrials.gov; the identifier number is NCT01627600, and the date was: 10/02/2012 (https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01627600?cond=Atahualpa&draw=2&rank=1). The Sleep Disorders substudy has been registered at ClinicalTrials.gov; the identifier number is NCT01877616, and the date was: 06/13/2013 (https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01877616?cond=Atahualpa&draw=2&rank=4).