Psychological and sleep-related factors among quarantined Omani students returning from abroad

ABSTRACT

Background

One of the many repercussions from the COVID-19 pandemic has been stress. The death toll from the pandemic, as well as sleep loss, have been noted to be the root causes of COVID-19 related stress and distress among students in the Arabian Gulf countries.

Aims

This study aimed to examine the relationship between self-reported sleeping problems and the socio-demographic, clinical and lifestyle factors among quarantined Omani students arriving from abroad

Methods

This was a cross-sectional analytical study conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, from April 1-10 2020. The participants were all Omani students who had arrived from abroad during the pandemic. The outcome measures consisted of the Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS) and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder -7 (GAD-7), as well as relevant socio-demographic, clinical, and lifestyle factors.

Result

A total of 376 participants were included in this study with 49.5% (n = 186) noted to be suffering from insomnia. Multivariate logistic analysis suggested that female students were 2.4 times (odds ratio [OR] = 2.43; confidence interval [CI]: 1.50-3.93; P < .001) more likely to suffer from insomnia when compared to male students.

Conclusion

Almost half of the participants self-reported sleeping problems, with a higher prevalence among female students. Further studies are needed to confirm these findings

KEYWORDS:

• Self-reported sleeping problems
• generalized anxiety disorder
• quarantine
• covid-19
• students
• oman

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank all of the students for their support in carrying out this study.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare they have no competing interests.

Additional information

Funding

The authors have no funding to report.