Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2021 Nov 1;27(6):529-534.
doi: 10.1097/MCP.0000000000000822.

Sleep medicine and coronavirus disease 2019

Cara M Gill  1 , Laura M Piggott  1 , Brian D Kent  1   2   3
Affiliations
Review

Sleep medicine and coronavirus disease 2019

Cara M Gill et al. Curr Opin Pulm Med. .

Abstract

Purpose of review: To evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the care of people with sleep disorders, to explore relationships between OSA and COVID-19, and to describe current knowledge of the effect of the pandemic on sleep globally.

Recent findings: COVID-19 has led to significant changes in the practice of sleep medicine, including the care of patients with OSA. An OSA diagnosis may portend a worse prognosis with COVID-19, whilst prior COVID-19 may have an impact on sleep breathing.

Summary: The pandemic has caused marked difficulties with access to diagnostic sleep studies and reduced capacity for CPAP initiation. Conversely, adherence to CPAP therapy may have improved, and use of remote consultations and telemonitoring has increased. An OSA diagnosis may be associated with increased risk of severe COVID-19, although any apparent relationship may be attributable to confounding factors, such as obesity and metabolic disease. Small studies have reported some increase in CPAP requirements in OSA patients following COVID-19 infection. More generally, the pandemic has been associated with a deterioration in subjective sleep quality across the population; much of this appears because of increased anxiety and stress. Finally, studies assessing putative links between COVID-19 and REM sleep issues are ongoing.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. WHO. WHO COVID-19 Dashboard. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2020.
    1. Cappuccio FP, Siani A. Covid-19 and cardiovascular risk: susceptibility to infection to SARS-CoV-2, severity and prognosis of Covid-19 and blockade of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system. An evidence-based viewpoint. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis 2020; 30:1227–1235.
    1. Richardson S, Hirsch JS, Narasimhan M, et al. Presenting characteristics, comorbidities, and outcomes among 5700 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in the New York City area. JAMA 2020; 323:2052–2059.
    1. Benjafield AV, Ayas NT, Eastwood PR, et al. Estimation of the global prevalence and burden of obstructive sleep apnoea: a literature-based analysis. Lancet Respir Med 2019; 7:687–698.
    1. Summary of CDC recommendations relevant for sleep practices during COVID-19. In: AASM. https://aasm.org/covid-19-resources/covid-19-mitigation-strategies-sleep... .