Investigating the Prevalence of COVID-19-Related Sleep Disorders Among Individuals Recovering from COVID-19: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study

Sleep disorders, as psychological manifestations of COVID-19, have been correlated with a decreased quality of all aspects of individuals' well-being, even after COVID-19 recovery.

Due to the persistence of sleep disorders even after the recovery from COVID-19, along with their significant consequences on the quality of life of individuals suffering from these disorders, this study was conducted to determine the prevalence and predictive power of sleep disorders and their correlation with socio-demographic and health disparities among COVID-19 recovered individuals in Iran.

In this cross-sectional analytical investigation, a total of 300 individuals participated from 3 hospitals in different regions of Tehran. Participants were selected based on inclusion criteria and simple random sampling. They were then evaluated using the "Questionnaire of Clinical and Demographic Information" and the "Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI)." Additionally, the "Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale 21 (DASS21)," "The Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory-Revised (OCI-R)," and "Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5)" were used to assess other related disorders in the prevalence and predictive power of sleep disorders among the participants. Statistical tests, including the analysis of variance (ANOVA), chi-square, and Bayesian linear regression, were implemented using SPSS v. 26 to analyze the obtained data.

Among the total of 300 participants, 198 individuals (66%) demonstrated sleep disorders. The majority were female (54.54%), married (88.38%), employed (56.56%), from Tehran (96.96%), and covered by hospital C (36.86%). Ultimately, depression (BF = 0.01 and P-value = 0.0001), anxiety (BF = 0.02 and P-value = 0.0001), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) (BF = 0.02 and P-value = 0.001), and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (BF = 0.0001 and P-value = 0.001) were the most powerful predictors of the presence of sleep disorders among individuals recovered from COVID-19.

COVID-19-related sleep disorders were found in more than half of the COVID-19-recovered individuals, with mild severity. Furthermore, the reported prevalence, severity, and significance varied among the participants in accordance with sociodemographic and health disparities.