Prevalence of sleep disturbances during COVID-19 outbreak in an urban Chinese population: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Objective The COVID-19 pandemic is a large-scale public health emergency that likely precipitated sleep disturbances in the community. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and correlates of sleep disturbances during the early phase of COVID-19 pandemic. Methods This web-based cross-sectional study recruited 1138 Hong Kong adults using convenience sampling over a two-week period from 6th April 2020. The survey collected data on sleep disturbances, mood, stress, stock of infection control supplies, perceived risk of being infected by COVID-19, and sources for acquiring COVID-19 information. The participants were asked to compare their recent sleep and sleep before the outbreak. The Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) was used to assess their current insomnia severity. Prevalence was weighted according to 2016 population census. Results The weighted prevalence of worsened sleep quality, difficulty in sleep initiation, and shortened sleep duration since the outbreak were 38.3%, 29.8%, and 29.1%, respectively. The prevalence of current insomnia (ISI score of ≥10) was 29.9%. Insufficient stock of masks was significantly associated with worsened sleep quality, impaired sleep initiation, shortened sleep duration, and current insomnia in multivariate logistic regression (adjusted OR = 1.57, 1.72, 1.99, and 1.96 respectively, all p < 0.05). Conclusion A high proportion of people in Hong Kong felt that their sleep had worsened since the COVID-19 outbreak. Insufficient stock of masks was one of the risk factors that were associated with sleep disturbances. Adequate and stable supply of masks may play an important role to maintain the sleep health in the Hong Kong general population during a pandemic outbreak.

Changes in sleep patterns and disturbances in children and adolescents in Italy during the Covid-19 outbreak

“…Our data are in agreement with other Chinese surveys in adolescents and young adults, reporting an increase in the prevalence of insomnia symptoms during the COVID-19 epidemic period[ 24 , 25 ] and also with other studies carried-out in Asia and Europe that showed sleep disturbances in up to a third of their samples[ 26 , 27 ].…”

Prospective Examination of Adolescent Sleep Patterns and Behaviors Before and During COVID-19

“…In addition, cross-sectional studies have found 30-70% of adults to report poor or insufficient sleep during the COVID-19 pandemic. [9][10][11][12][13] However, there have also been some indications of improvements in sleep, with studies finding adults to have longer sleep duration during COVID-19 5,8 and for a higher percentage to obtain the recommended amounts of nighttime sleep. 5 Similarly, a qualitative study with 45 adolescents found adolescents to report a delayed sleep schedule (by about two hours), improved sleep quality, longer sleep duration, and less daytime sleepiness during COVID-19 compared to before COVID-19.…”

“…Based on research suggesting increased sleep duration during COVID-19 in non-ADHD samples, 5,8 but not in youth with ADHD, 30 it was also hypothesized that adolescents with ADHD would be less likely than adolescents without ADHD to obtain recommended sleep duration during the pandemic. Also based on extant studies with adults, [9][10][11][12][13] we expected higher rates of clinically-elevated difficulties initiating and maintaining sleep during the pandemic compared to before the pandemic, particularly for adolescents without ADHD relative to adolescents with ADHD. 29 2.…”

A Cross-Sectional Study of Psychological Status in Different Epidemic Areas in China After the COVID-19 Outbreak

“…The questionnaire was collected through social media WeChat (15) (Tencent, Shenzhen, China) using an online survey platform Sojump (Changsha ran Xing InfoTech Ltd.,) during February 6th to 13th, 2020, when the epidemic was in the outbreak period, the situation was chaotic (16)(17)(18) and the number of people infected with COVID-19 was escalating. The convenience sampling was adopted.…”