M. Tsaava, I. Sakhelashvili, N. Tkemaladze, T. Basishvili, M. Eliozishvili, N. Oniani, N. Darchia
Tengiz Oniani Laboratory of Sleep-Wakefulness Cycle Study
Ilia State University, Tbilisi, Georgia
Introduction. Scientific evidence indicates that COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted sleep and mental health of billions of people around the world. The present study aimed to investigate the prevalence of poor sleep quality and psychosocial problems during the second wave lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic in Georgia and to evaluate whether rates of occurrence of these problems vary in different age groups.
Methods. Data on the demographic, sleep, health and psychosocial variables were collected from 1117 respondents through an online survey. Participants were categorized into 4 age groups – 18-29, 30-41, 42-53 and 54-70 years. There were only 8 subjects aged 66 to70 years and they were added to the oldest age group.
Results. The latest bedtime and risetime as well as longer sleep latency were observed in the youngest age group (p< 0.001 for all). Retrospective assessment of sleep quality by age categories showed that most respondents with worse sleep quality (45.9%) were in the youngest age group. Overall, 58.3% of subjects were poor sleepers. Although mean PSQI score was highest in the youngest age group, the difference by age groups was not significant. There was a significant difference in the PSQI component scores between age groups for subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, sleep duration, and daytime dysfunction, all being worse in young respondents. Use of sleep medication also differed significantly between groups with the oldest respondents taken more medication. Mean scores for perceived stress, feeling depressed, anxious or socially isolated differed significantly among age groups and showed highest values in the youngest age group. Young population also reported significantly worsened family environment (p<0.05).
Conclusion. Study findings indicate that COVID-19 impact on sleep and psychosocial problems are more severe in young people. These results are noteworthy since the vulnerability of young population to the lockdown related restrictions place them at a higher risk to develop long lasting sleep problems and psychopathologies.