• Janaína Mariana de Araújo Miranda Brito-Marques, FrancoClélia Maria RibeiroCMR0000-0001-8877-2790Universidade de Pernambuco, Hospital Universitário Oswaldo Cruz, Departamento de Neurologia, Recife PE, Brazil.Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Unidade de Neurologia e Neurocirurgia, Departamento de Neuro, Paulo Roberto de Brito-Marques, Sandra Cristina Gonçalves Martinez, and PradoGilmar Fernandes doGFD0000-0002-3383-8198Academia Brasileira de Neurologia, Departamento Científico de Sono, São Paulo SP, Brazil.Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Unidade de Neurologia, São Paulo SP, Brazil..
• Universidade de Pernambuco, Hospital Universitário Oswaldo Cruz, Departamento de Neurologia, Recife PE, Brazil.
• Arq Neuropsiquiatr. 2021 Feb 1; 79 (2): 149-155.

IntroductionCoronavirus pandemic began in China in 2019 (COVID-19), causing not only public health problems but also great psychological distress, especially for physicians involved in coping with the virus or those of the risk group in social isolation, and this represents a challenge for the psychological resilience in the world population. Studies showed that health professionals had psychological symptoms such as depression, anxiety, insomnia, stress, among others.ObjectivesTo investigate the quality of sleep and the prevalence rate of sleeping disorders among physicians during COVID-19 pandemic, and identify the psychological and social factors associated with the condition.MethodsA cross-sectional study of an online questionnaire was applied for physicians in Brazil. Among the 332 participants included, 227 were women. Sociodemographic assessment was used in the questionnaire, as well as the scale of impact on the events of modifications caused by COVID-19, assessment on sleep quality (PSQI), presence and severity of insomnia (ISI), depressive symptoms (PHQ-9), and anxiety (GAD-7).ResultsMost physicians (65.6%) had changes in sleep. Poor sleep quality was reported by 73.1%, depressive symptoms were present in 75.8%, and anxiety in 73.4%.ConclusionOur study found that more than 70% of the physicians assessed had impaired sleep quality, characterizing insomnia symptoms during COVID-19 outbreak. Related factors included an environment of isolation, concerns about COVID-19 outbreak and symptoms of anxiety and depression. Special interventions are needed to promote health professionals' mental well-being and implement changes in this scenario.

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