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Meta-Analysis
. 2022 Feb;31(1):e13432.
doi: 10.1111/jsr.13432. Epub 2021 Jul 9.

Gender-specific estimates of sleep problems during the COVID-19 pandemic: Systematic review and meta-analysis

Zainab Alimoradi  1 , David Gozal  2 , Hector W H Tsang  3 , Chung-Ying Lin  4 , Anders Broström  5 , Maurice M Ohayon  6 , Amir H Pakpour  1   5
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Gender-specific estimates of sleep problems during the COVID-19 pandemic: Systematic review and meta-analysis

Zainab Alimoradi et al. J Sleep Res. 2022 Feb.

Abstract

The outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) changed lifestyles worldwide and subsequently induced individuals' sleep problems. Sleep problems have been demonstrated by scattered evidence among the current literature on COVID-19; however, little is known regarding the synthesised prevalence of sleep problems (i.e. insomnia symptoms and poor sleep quality) for males and females separately. The present systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to answer the important question regarding prevalence of sleep problems during the COVID-19 outbreak period between genders. Using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guideline and Newcastle-Ottawa Scale checklist, relevant studies with satisfactory methodological quality searched for in five academic databases (Scopus, PubMed Central, ProQuest, Web of Science , and EMBASE) were included and analysed. The protocol of the project was registered in the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO; identification code CRD42020181644). A total of 54 papers (N = 67,722) in the female subgroup and 45 papers (N = 45,718) in the male subgroup were pooled in the meta-analysis. The corrected pooled estimated prevalence of sleep problems was 24% (95% confidence interval [CI] 19%-29%) for female participants and 27% (95% CI 24%-30%) for male participants. Although in both gender subgroups, patients with COVID-19, health professionals and general population showed the highest prevalence of sleep problems, it did not reach statistical significance. Based on multivariable meta-regression, both gender groups had higher prevalence of sleep problems during the lockdown period. Therefore, healthcare providers should pay attention to the sleep problems and take appropriate preventive action.

Keywords: COVID-19; gender; insomnia; prevalence; sleep.

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Conflict of interest statement

All authors have no conflicts to declare.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Search process based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses (PRISMA) flowchart
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Forest plot for the pooled prevalence of sleep problems in the male group. CI, confidence interval; ES, effect size
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Funnel plot assessing the publication bias among the included studies in the male subgroup. ES, effect size
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
Corrected funnel plot based on the fill‐and‐trim method in the male subgroup
FIGURE 5
FIGURE 5
Forest plot for the pooled prevalence of sleep problems in the female group. CI, confidence interval; ES, effect size
FIGURE 6
FIGURE 6
Funnel plot assessing the publication bias among included studies in the female subgroup. ES, effect size
FIGURE 7
FIGURE 7
Corrected funnel plot based on the fill‐and‐trim method in the male subgroup
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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