• Stuart F Quan, Matthew D Weaver, Mark É Czeisler, Laura K Barger, Lauren A Booker, Mark E Howard, Melinda L Jackson, Rashon I Lane, Christine F McDonald, Anna Ridgers, Rebecca Robbins, Prerna Varma, Joshua F Wiley, RajaratnamShantha M WSMWDivision of Sleep and Circadian Disorders, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Mass; Division of Sleep Medicine; School of Psychological Sciences, Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Monash University, Melbourne, Victor, and Charles A Czeisler.
• Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Mass; Division of Sleep Medicine. Electronic address: Stuart_Quan@hms.harvard.edu.
• Am. J. Med. 2024 Jun 1; 137 (6): 529537.e3529-537.e3.

BackgroundObstructive sleep apnea is associated with COVID-19 infection. Less clear is whether obstructive sleep apnea is a risk factor for the development of post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC).Study DesignCross-sectional survey of a general population of 24,803 US adults to determine the association of obstructive sleep apnea with PASC.ResultsCOVID-19 infection occurred in 10,324 (41.6%) participants. Prevalence of persistent (>3 months post infection) putative PASC-related physical and mental health symptoms ranged from 6.5% (peripheral edema) to 19.6% (nervous/anxious). In logistic regression models, obstructive sleep apnea was associated with all putative PASC-related symptoms with the highest adjusted odds ratios being fever (2.053) and nervous/anxious (1.939). In 4 logistic regression models of overall PASC derived from elastic net regression, obstructive sleep apnea was associated with PASC (range of adjusted odds ratios: 1.934-2.071); this association was mitigated in those with treated obstructive sleep apnea. In the best fitting overall model requiring ≥3 symptoms, PASC prevalence was 21.9%.ConclusionIn a general population sample, obstructive sleep apnea is associated with the development of PASC-related symptoms and a global definition of PASC. Treated obstructive sleep apnea mitigates the latter risk. The presence of 3 or more PASC symptoms may be useful in identifying cases and for future research.Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

23 keywords...

hide…