Optimal doses of Z may protect against long-term COVID-19

A prospective cohort study suggests that healthy sleep behaviors before and during the pandemic may protect against long-term COVID-19.

Among the approximately 2,000 women who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection in the Nurses Health Study II, those with the healthiest pre-pandemic sleep scores compared with those with the poorest scores. had a 30% lower risk of developing long-term COVID-19 (multivariate-adjusted relative risk 0.70, 95% CI 0.52-0.94, P.<0.001 trend), reported Siwen Wang, M.D., Ph.D., of the TH Chang School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, and co-authors.

Little or no pre-pandemic daytime impairment and good sleep quality during the pandemic were independently associated with reduced risk of long-term COVID-19 morbidity (respectively, relative risk 0.83, 95% CI 0.71–0.98, relative risk 0.82, 95% CI 0.69–0.99).at they pointed out JAMA network open.

These associations did not differ based on whether the participants provided frontline care, that is, their health worker status, Wang and team said.

“We already know that healthy sleep is good for your overall health,” Wang said. today’s medpage, He added that previous research has linked sleep deprivation with an increased risk of COVID-19.

“Our findings further suggest that healthy sleep is not only beneficial in preventing chronic disease, but also helps the immune system,” she said.

Although the researchers did not study the biological pathways that may be driving the link between sleep and long-term COVID-19, all aspects of sleep investigated were associated with “systemic inflammation and He pointed out that it is linked to immunological abnormalities.

Both inflammation and immune dysregulation are associated with a high risk of persistent COVID-19 symptoms, Wang said. “Evidence suggests that people with unhealthy sleep profiles may have altered gut microbiota and blood clotting disorders, which are also associated with increased long-term risk of COVID-19. There is also,” she added.

In their study, Dr. Wang and colleagues concluded that “people with poor sleep health may be more susceptible to cytokine storms due to pro-inflammatory conditions, and cytokine storms have been implicated in the multisystem manifestations of PCC.” It is believed that there are [post-COVID-19 condition]. ”

More research is needed to understand exactly how healthy sleep can reduce the risk of long-term COVID-19, Wang said, noting that future research could help improve sleep over the long-term. He said he hopes it will also be investigated to see if it can help alleviate symptoms of viral infections. Simple steps to improve sleep hygiene include setting a regular bedtime, shutting down screens and removing electronics, and avoiding large late meals.

For this study, Wang and co-authors used the following survey data: Health Learning for Nurses II. Of the 1,979 participants who reported SARS-CoV-2 infection, the mean age was 64.7 years and 97.2% were Caucasian. About 43% were frontline health care workers, and 44% had long-lasting COVID-19.

Sleep health was measured from June 2015 to May 2017. The pre-pandemic sleep score — 0 to 1 indicating the least healthy sleep and 5 indicating the healthiest sleep — was defined according to five dimensions: (“morning people”), sleeps 7–8 hours each night, has few symptoms of insomnia, no self-reported snoring, and no frequent daytime impairments such as fatigue, mood, concentration or memory deficits .

In the first novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) substudy conducted from April to August 2020, participants were asked about their average daily sleep duration and sleep quality over the past seven days.

A sensitivity analysis found that the association between sleep deprivation and prolonged COVID-19 stays “purely cannot be explained by factors such as COVID-19 hospitalization, depression, and anxiety that can affect sleep quality.” ,” Wang said.

One limitation of the study, the authors said, was that the participants were white, middle-aged women, so the results may not be generalizable to other populations. Furthermore, this study was conducted during the pandemic phase when the predominant mutants were alpha and delta, so the results may not apply to subsequent mutants.