Is sleep impaired in post-COVID syndrome vs. healthy controls? Preliminary data

ABSTRACT

Background: People with post-COVID syndrome (PCS) suffer from persisting symptoms, e.g. self-reported sleep disorders (31%). However, sleep has not yet been objectively measured by polysomnography (PSG) in PCS. Objective(s) To examine differences in sleep characteristics between PCS and healthy controls (HC). Method(s) People with PCS and HC were included in this prospective trial. All subjects performed baseline characteristics, 1-minute sit-to-stand test (STST), subjective impairments of sleep and a single night sleep assessment in a sleep lab via PSG and Whoop strap (digital health coach). Post-COVID functional scale (PCFS) and Ordinal Scale for Clinical Improvement (OSCI) were assessed only in PCS. Result(s) To date, 20 PCS patients (49+/-11y, FVC 87+/-12%pred., DLCO 81+/-19%pred., PCFS 2.8+/-0.9, OSCI 2.7+/-1.3pts) and 3 HC (44+/-9y, FVC 92+/-3%pred., DLCO 105+/-25%pred.) completed the trial. Only PCS patients reported an impaired sleep ("Is your sleep impaired since COVID?" [yes 89%]) mainly due to insomnia in the middle of the night (61%). Total sleep time and the distribution of sleep stages (light, deep, REM) were comparable between PCS and HC. The REM latency trended to be longer in PCS vs. HC (114+/-51 vs. 52+/-17 min.). Apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) trended to be higher in PCS (8.9+/-8.5 vs. 0.9+/-1.2 events/h), 55.6% of PCS reported an AHI>5/h. The individual quality of recovery after the study night was classified to be "adequate" (PCS 56+/-21%, HC 52+/-15%). Conclusion(s) In PCS, sleep seems to be subjectively and objectively impaired compared to HC. A significant number of PCS patients (44%) was diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea. Hence, measuring sleep might be an important diagnostic tool in the management of PCS.