LONGITUDINAL ASSESSMENT OF CPAP USE IN SLEEP MEDICINE CLINIC PATIENTS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Introduction: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there may be changes in continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) adherence. This study aimed to examine the longitudinal effect of using CPAP as advised and self-reported sleep quality improvements in sleep medicine clinic patients using CPAP early in the pandemic and six months later. Methods: Between June-November 2020, 81 sleep medicine clinic patients completed an online survey that included questions about CPAP use, using CPAP as advised, and changes in sleep quality associated with CPAP use. Patients were recontacted 6 months later to complete the same survey. Among survey respondents completing both surveys, 27 (50%;aged 58±18.2 y, 48% female, 67% Caucasian) reported using CPAP and were included in the present analysis. We conducted multivariate regression analyses Chisquare Association tests to determine whether self-reported CPAP use, CPAP use as advised, and sleep quality changed from baseline to 6-month follow up during the pandemic. Results: Among CPAP users, 89% reported no change, 7% reported they use CPAP more, and 4% reported they use CPAP less at 6-month follow up. There was a significant increase in using CPAP as advised at 6-month follow up compared to the baseline survey, p=0.003. Additionally, there was a significant improvement self-reported sleep quality while using CPAP at 6-month follow up compared to the baseline survey, p=0.012. Conclusion: Patients reported an increase in using CPAP advised and improvements in sleep quality as a result of CPAP use at 6-month follow up compared to a baseline survey administered early in the pandemic. Understanding why patients are more adherent to using CPAP as advised during the pandemic may help in developing interventions to increase CPAP adherence.

Childhood Adversity and Perceived Distress from the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Childhood exposure to adversity may increase an individual's reactivity to subsequent stressors. In this paper, we examine how adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with experiencing greater perceived distress during the pandemic. In this volunteer clinical cohort study, 177 pregnant women (ages 16-38) were recruited from two university-affiliated perinatal clinics located in a small metropolitan city between October 2017 and May 2018. Longitudinal data collection is ongoing. The current study includes the 101 women who participated through the eighth and most recent survey conducted in mid-April 2020. OLS regression analyses were used to examine the association between childhood adversity and pandemic-related distress. We found that ACE scores were associated with higher levels of distress (b = .08; se = .03; p < .01) when controlling for demographic characteristics. The addition of loneliness to the model fully mediates the association between ACEs score and distress. Findings suggest that adverse childhood experiences influence COVID-19-related distress due to greater social isolation. Those who had greater adversity during childhood may be less likely to have the social connectedness needed to reduce distress due to the pandemic.