Investigation on sleep and mental health of patients with Parkinson's disease during the Coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic

Sleep Med. 2020 Nov:75:428-433. doi: 10.1016/j.sleep.2020.09.011. Epub 2020 Sep 10.

Abstract

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is adversely affecting sleep quality and mental health, especially in individuals with chronic disease such as Parkinson's disease (PD).

Methods: We conducted a quantitative study, which included 119 Chinese PD patients who had been treated in an outpatient neurology clinic in Wuhan and 169 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. The questionnaire survey focused on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sleep, mental status, symptoms, and daily life and medical treatment of PD patients.

Results: Compared to healthy controls, PD patients had significantly higher scores in both the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) (8.13 vs 5.36, p < 0.001) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) -Depression (4.89 vs 3.82, p = 0.022), as well as a higher prevalence of sleep disturbances with PSQI > 5 points (68.9% vs 44.4%, p < 0.001). Sleep disturbance was identified in 68.9% of PD patients. A logistic regression analysis showed that sleep disturbance of PD patients was independently associated with exacerbation of PD symptoms (OR = 3.616, 95%CI= (1.479, 8.844), p = 0.005) and anxiety (OR = 1.379, 95%CI= (1.157, 1.642), p < 0.001). Compared to male PD patients, female ones had higher PSQI scores (9.28 ± 4.41 vs 7.03 ± 4.01, p = 0.009) and anxiety (32.8% vs 0.1%, p = 0.002) and depression prevalence (34.5% vs 11.5%, p = 0.003).

Conclusion: The findings of the present study emphasize the importance of mental and sleep health interventions in PD patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Additional attention should be paid to the difficulty encountered by PD patients in seeking medical treatment.

Keywords: Coronavirus disease 2019; Mental health; Parkinson's disease; Sleep disturbance.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Anxiety / epidemiology*
  • COVID-19 / psychology*
  • Case-Control Studies
  • China
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Depression / epidemiology*
  • Disease Progression
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Pandemics*
  • Parkinson Disease / epidemiology*
  • Parkinson Disease / psychology
  • Qualitative Research
  • Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders / epidemiology*
  • Surveys and Questionnaires