The prevalence of fatigue and sleep disturbances is common in patients who have recovered from acute Covid-19, according to a recent study reported in the journal Sleep.1

Researchers from the Cleveland Clinic Foundation set out to determine the predictors of post-Covid fatigue and sleep disturbances in 962 patients who had recovered from Covid-19. For this they analyzed data from the Cleveland Clinic ReCOVer Clinic patients between February 2021 and April 2021 using the PROMIS (Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System) Sleep Disturbance and PROMIS Fatigue questionnaires. Women comprised 75% of the study population. A score of ≥60 was suggestive of moderate disturbance and a score of ≥70 indicated severe disturbance. 

Nearly 22% experienced severe fatigue, while 68.6% had moderate fatigue. Sleep disturbances were also prevalent with 8% reporting severe disturbances in sleep and 41% reporting moderate sleep disturbances. The probability of being obese (higher BMIs) was greater in patients who reported moderately severe sleep disturbances versus those who had normal-to-mild sleep disturbances; 32.3 vs 30.9. They were also more likely to have a worse general anxiety disorder. Patients of Black ethnicity were at thrice the risk of severely disturbed sleep with odds ratio of 3.42.

This study demonstrates the high prevalence of sleep problems in patients with post-acute sequelae of COVID-19. It also shows an association of sleep disturbances with obesity and anxiety disorder and suggests a role for race as a contributing factor.

 Reference

1. Pena Orbea C, et al. 0735 Sleep disturbances in post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC). Sleep. 2022 June;45(Suppl 1):A321. https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/zsac079.731.