Dataset Information

Are adversities and worries during the COVID-19 pandemic related to sleep quality? Longitudinal analyses of 46,000 UK adults.

ABSTRACT:

Background

There are concerns that both the experience of adversities during the COVID-19 pandemic and worries about experiencing adversities will have substantial and lasting effects on mental health. One pathway through which both experience of and worries about adversity may impact health is through effects on sleep.

Methods

We used data from 46,284 UK adults in the COVID-19 Social Study assessed weekly from 01/04/2020-12/05/2020 to study the association between adversities and sleep quality. We studied six categories of adversity including both worries and experiences of: illness with COVID-19, financial difficulty, loss of paid work, difficulties acquiring medication, difficulties accessing food, and threats to personal safety. We used random-effect within-between models to account for all time-invariant confounders.

Results

Both the total number of adversity experiences and total number of adversity worries were associated with lower quality sleep. Each additional experience was associated with a 1.16 (95% CI = 1.10, 1.22) times higher odds of poor quality sleep while each additional worry was associated with a 1.20 (95% CI = 1.17, 1.22) times higher odds of poor quality sleep. When considering specific experiences and worries, all worries and experiences were significantly related to poorer quality sleep except experiences relating to employment and finances. Having a larger social network offered some buffering effects on associations but there was limited further evidence of moderation by other social or psychiatric factors.

Conclusion

Poor sleep may be a mechanism by which COVID-19 adversities are affecting mental health. This highlights the importance of interventions that support adaptive coping strategies during the pandemic.

SUBMITTER: Wright L

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7993810 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Similar Datasets

Project description:Background/objectivesDifferences in older adults' worry, attitudes, and mental health between high-income countries with diverging pandemic responses are largely unknown. We compared COVID-19 worry, attitudes towards governmental responses, and self-reported mental health symptoms among adults aged ≥55 in the United States and Canada early in the COVID-19 pandemic.DesignOnline cross-sectional survey administered between April 2nd and May 31st in the United States and between May 1st and June 30th, 2020 in Canada.SettingNationally in the United States and Canada.ParticipantsConvenience sample of older adults aged ≥55.MeasurementsLikert-type scales measured COVID-19 worry and attitudes towards government support. Three standardized scales assessed mental health symptoms: the eight-item Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, the five-item Beck Anxiety Inventory, and the three-item UCLA loneliness scale.ResultsThere were 4453 U.S. respondents (71.7% women; mean age 67.5) and 1549 Canadian (67.6% women; mean age 69.3). More U.S. respondents (71%) were moderately or extremely worried about the pandemic, compared to 52% in Canada. Just 20% of U.S. respondents agreed or strongly agreed that the federal government cared about older adults in their COVID-19 pandemic response, compared to nearly two-thirds of Canadians (63%). U.S. respondents were more likely to report elevated depressive and anxiety symptoms compared to Canadians; 34.2% (32.8-35.6) versus 25.6% (23.3-27.8) for depressive and 30.8% (29.5-32.2) versus 23.7% (21.6-25.9) for anxiety symptoms. The proportion of United States and Canadian respondents who reported loneliness was similar. A greater proportion of women compared to men reported symptoms of depression and anxiety across all age groups in both countries.ConclusionU.S. older adults felt less supported by their federal government and had elevated depressive and anxiety symptoms compared to older adults in Canada during early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Public health messaging from governments should be clear, consistent, and incorporate support for mental health.

Project description:COVID-19 pandemic restrictions impacted dietary habits during the initial months of the pandemic, but long-term effects are unclear. In this longitudinal study, self-selected UK adults (n = 1,733, 71.1% female, 95.7% white ethnicity) completed three online surveys (May-June, August-September, and November-December 2020, with a retrospective pre-pandemic component in the baseline survey), self-reporting sociodemographics, lifestyle, and behaviours, including high fat, salt, and sugar (HFSS) snacks, HFSS meals, and fruit and vegetable (FV) intake. Data were analysed using generalised estimating equations. Monthly HFSS snacks portion intake increased from pre-pandemic levels (48.3) in May-June (57.6, p < 0.001), decreased in August-September (43.7, p < 0.001), before increasing back to pre-pandemic levels in November-December (49.2, p < 0.001). A total of 48.5% self-reported increased [25.9 (95% confidence interval: 24.1, 27.8)] and 47.7% self-reported decreased [24.1 (22.4, 26.0)] monthly HFSS snacks portion intakes in November-December compared with pre-pandemic levels. Monthly HFSS meals portion intake decreased from pre-pandemic levels (7.1) in May-June (5.9, p < 0.001), was maintained in August-September (5.9, p = 0.897), and then increased again in November-December (6.6, p < 0.001) to intakes that remained lower than pre-pandemic levels (p = 0.007). A total of 35.2% self-reported increased [4.8 (4.3, 5.3)] and 44.5% self-reported decreased [5.1 (4.6, 5.6)] monthly HFSS meals portion intakes in November-December compared with pre-pandemic levels. The proportion meeting FV intake recommendations was stable from pre-pandemic through to August-September (70%), but decreased in November-December 2020 (67%, p = 0.034). Increased monthly HFSS snacks intake was associated with female gender, lower quality of life, and - in a time - varying manner - older age and higher HFSS meals intake. Increased monthly HFSS meals intake was associated with female gender, living with adults only, and higher HFSS snacks intake. Reduced FV intake was associated with higher body mass index (BMI) and lower physical activity. These results suggest large interindividual variability in dietary change during the first year of the pandemic, with important public health implications in individuals experiencing persistent increases in unhealthy diet choices, associated with BMI, gender, quality of life, living conditions, physical activity, and other dietary behaviours.

Project description:Background: Several studies have assessed the impact of COVID-19-related lockdowns on sleep quality across global populations. However, no study to date has specifically assessed at-risk populations, particularly those at highest risk of complications from coronavirus infection deemed "clinically-extremely-vulnerable-(COVID-19CEV)" (as defined by Public Health England). Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we surveyed 5,558 adults aged ≥50 years (of whom 523 met criteria for COVID-19CEV) during the first pandemic wave that resulted in a nationwide-lockdown (April-June 2020) with assessments of sleep quality (an adapted sleep scale that captured multiple sleep indices before and during the lockdown), health/medical, lifestyle, psychosocial and socio-demographic factors. We examined associations between these variables and sleep quality; and explored interactions of COVID-19CEV status with significant predictors of poor sleep, to identify potential moderating factors. Results: Thirty-seven percent of participants reported poor sleep quality which was associated with younger age, female sex and multimorbidity. Significant associations with poor sleep included health/medical factors: COVID-19CEV status, higher BMI, arthritis, pulmonary disease, and mental health disorders; and the following lifestyle and psychosocial factors: living alone, higher alcohol consumption, an unhealthy diet and higher depressive and anxiety symptoms. Moderators of the negative relationship between COVID-19CEV status and good sleep quality were marital status, loneliness, anxiety and diet. Within this subgroup, less anxious and less lonely males, as well as females with healthier diets, reported better sleep. Conclusions: Sleep quality in older adults was compromised during the sudden unprecedented nation-wide lockdown due to distinct modifiable factors. An important contribution of our study is the assessment of a "clinically-extremely-vulnerable" population and the sex differences identified within this group. Male and female older adults deemed COVID-19CEV may benefit from targeted mental health and dietary interventions, respectively. This work extends the available evidence on the notable impact of lack of social interactions during the COVID-19 pandemic on sleep, and provides recommendations toward areas for future work, including research into vulnerability factors impacting sleep disruption and COVID-19-related complications. Study results may inform tailored interventions targeted at modifiable risk factors to promote optimal sleep; additionally, providing empirical data to support health policy development in this area.