Has the COVID-19 Pandemic Traumatized Us Collectively? The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Mental Health and Sleep Factors via Traumatization: A Multinational Survey.

The COVID-19 pandemic affects mental health and sleep, resulting in frequent nightmares. Therefore, identifying factors associated with nightmare frequency is important, as it can indicate mental health issues. The study aimed to investigate increases in nightmare frequency comparing the pre-pandemic and pandemic period, and identify its risk factors. Further, the mediating role of post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms between the pandemic and nightmares is explored. For this cross-sectional survey data were obtained via self-rating online survey (ICOSS: details in Partinen et al, 2021), which was open to anyone older than 18 years. The final volunteer sample consisted of 15,292 participants, divided according to their nightmare frequency (high: ≥1-2 nights/week; low: <1-2 nights/week). A total of 9100 participants were excluded if answers on variables of interest were missing or receiving rewards for participation. Chi-square tests identified changes of nightmare frequency. Predictors of high nightmare frequency were assessed using logistic regression and presented as Odds Ratios. Post-hoc mediation models were used to investigate the role of post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS). The mean age was 41.63 (SD=16.55) with 64.05% females. High nightmare frequency increased significantly from 13.24% to 22.35% during the pandemic. Factors associated with it included self-reported PTSS (OR=2.11), other mental disorders and various sleep disorders or problems. Financial burden due to the pandemic, confinement, having had COVID-19, and work situation during the pandemic were associated with nightmare frequency, those relations were partly mediated through PTSS. Our results display the pandemic influence on nightmare frequency, which in turn connects to multiple mental health and sleep factors. These relations were partly mediated through PTSS. The COVID-19 pandemic appears to have caused traumatization of a substantial proportion of society. Health care workers should consider nightmares in their screening routines, as it might indicate PTSS and/or other mental and sleep disorders.

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© 2022 Holzinger et al.

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Prof. Dr. Colin A Espie reports personal fees from Big Health (Sleepio), grants from NIHR, outside the submitted work. Dr Kentaro Matsui reports personal fees from Eisai, personal fees from Meiji Seika Pharma, personal fees from Mochida, personal fees from MSD, personal fees from Otsuka Pharmaceutical, personal fees from Takeda Pharmaceutical, personal fees from Yoshitomi Pharmaceutical, outside the submitted work. Prof. Dr. Charles M Morin reports grants from Eisai, Idorsia, Lallemand, personal fees from Eisai, Idorsia, Pear Therapeutics, royalities from Mapi Research Trust, outside the submitted work. Prof. Dr. Markku Partinen reports clinical trials from Bioprojet, Jazz Pharmaceuticals and TEVA, personal fees from GSK and Takeda, personal fees and clinical trials from MSD, outside the submitted work. Prof. Dr. Giuseppe Plazzi reports personal fees from Jazz Pharmaceutical, personal fees from Takeda, personal fees from Idorsia, personal fees from Bioprojet, outside the submitted work. Prof. Dr. Thomas Penzel reports grants from Cidelec, grants from Novartis, grants from Löwenstein Medical, personal fees from Löwenstein Medical, personal fees from Jazz Pharma, personal fees from Neuwirth, consultation to institution from Bayer Healthcare, personal fees from Cerebra, personal fees from National Sleep Foundation, grants from European Union, outside the submitted work; and Shareholder of Advanced Sleep Research, The Siestagroup GmbH, Nukute. Prof. Dr. Yun Kwok Wing reports personal fees from Eisai Co, Ltd (HK), personal fees from Lundbeck HK Ltd, outside the submitted work. The authors report no other conflicts of interest in this work.