Dados do Trabalho

Título

Sleep quality, stress and anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic: implications for the development of psychiatric diseases in the elderly.

Introdução

The COVID-19 Pandemic has been considered the greatest challenge facing humanity since World War II, threatening thousands of lives as well as bringing serious physical and psychological consequences.

Objetivo

The aim of this study was to understand the implications of social isolation in the elderly, its relationship with the disruption of circadian rhythm and its interaction with the risk of development neuropsychiatric diseases.

Métodos

This was a cross-sectional study involving elderly people ≥60 years (n=91) (CEP/UFRN, n.4,140,853), residents of Natal/RN, who answered scientifically validated questionnaires: Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), perceived stress scale (PSS), hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS) and the Berlin questionnaire, from August 2020 to May 2021.

Resultados

The results showed poor sleep quality in 84.6% of the elderly, 6 .9±1.6 hours of sleep/night, presence of nocturia (93.4%), intermittent sleep (90.1%) and frequent nightmares (79.1%), with higher PSQI scores for men (p< 0.05). High risk for Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome (OSAS) was observed in 46.1% of the elderly, among whom 100% were obese (BMI>30) and 81% were hypertensive. The HADS showed probable anxiety in 34.1%, and probable depression in 25.3% of the elderly. There was a positive correlation between the PSQI and the HADS (r=.413/r=.335), between the HADS and the PSS (r=.784/r=.622) and between the anxiety and depression subscales (r=.806). The PSS showed that 90% of the elderly had high or moderate perceived stress. There was a significant difference in PSS between infected and non-infected by COVID (p<0.05), as well as a higher probability of anxiety and depression (p<0.05) among those infected.

Conclusões

In Conclusion, the most of the elderly evaluated had a disruption of circadian rhythm, and were classified as having poor sleep quality, and that there was an association with the development of psychiatric diseases, such as anxiety and depression. In addition, there was a relationship between poor sleep quality and perceived stress, and with the risk of developing OSAS. These data reinforce the importance of searching for solutions to control the main variables associated with the development of sleep disorders, as well as stress, anxiety and depression resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Palavras -chave

Sleep, social isolation, psychiatric diseases, COVID-19.