Introduction The development of sleep disorders, and specifically insomnia, has been linked to the exposure to different stressors. In this line, Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak caused by the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, has caused a huge impact on our environment, and has exposed healthcare workers to an unprecedented threat. In this study, we try to assess sleep quality and the development of sleep disorders in health personnel directly dedicated to the care of COVID-19 patients at the height of the pandemic, compared to the general population. Materials and methods A cross-sectional, anonymized, self-reported questionnaire survey was carried out at the “12 de Octubre” Hospital, in Madrid, Spain, during the outbreak of COVID-19, from March 1st to April 30th 2020. We compared two groups, healthcare workers who have treated directly COVID-19 patients versus non-healthcare workers. The questionnaire included demographic data, sleep related aspects, Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) and 17-items Hamilton Rating Scale (HRS). Results In total 170 participants completed the questionnaire successfully, 100 healthcare workers and 70 non-healthcare workers. Self-reported insomnia, nightmares, sleepwalking, sleep terrors and PSQI>6 were more frequent in the healthcare group (p < 0,05). Shift work was associated to greater risk when performing multiple logistic regression analysis. Conclusions We observed that, during the outbreak of COVID-19, healthcare workers on the front line developed more sleep disturbances than non-healthcare professionals, and they had worse quality of sleep. Special attention should be paid to shift workers. Concrete protection and prevention measures for particularly exposed population should be considered in pandemic situations.

Background:Current data suggest that at least three psychophysiological paradigms are involved in Alcohol Dependence: attentional bias; affective modulation of the startle reflex and behavioural inhibition. These three paradigms have not been studied together in a sample of alcohol dependent subjects.Objectives:To show that the performance on these three psychophysiological processes allows discriminating alcohol dependent subjects (with different severity) from healthy controls.Methods:59 alcohol dependent subjects were assessed with the following three psychophysiological tasks: The dot probe task (which assesses attentional bias), the startle response when viewing alcohol cues (which evaluates affective modulation of the startle reflex), and the Modified- Stop Signal-Task (which measures behavioral inhibition). The Severity of Alcohol Dependence Scale (SAD) was used for grouping patients based on their dependence severity. 52 healthy subjects were assessed as the control group.Results:All three paradigms correctly discriminated between patients and controls. Patients were divided into three subgroups according to their scores on the SAD (mild, moderate and severe dependence). The performance of the three groups in the three paradigms studied was also different. Patients with more severe dependence had more attentional bias for alcohol cues, exhibited lower magnitudes of startle response when viewing alcohol cues, and showed lower capacity to inhibit their behaviour when words related to alcohol were being seen.Conclusions:Subjects with alcohol dependence showed different psychophysiological response patterns compared to controls in the three paradigms studied. These response patterns seem to be associated with the severity of dependence, and they could be used to determine the outcome of the treatment in patients with alcohol dependence.

Este es un artículo Open Access bajo la licencia CC BY-NC-ND.

No abstract

Background: Alcoholics show attentional bias when viewing alcohol-related pictures, a low magnitude of the startle response when viewing alcohol-related cues, and a poor inhibitory control. However, it has not been studied which clinical and drinking variables modulate these paradigms. Objectives: To explore which clinical and drinking variables modulate attentional bias, affective modulation of the startle reflex and behavioural inhibition in alcoholics. Methods: 127 alcoholics were tested with 3 psychophysiological tasks: the dot probe task (attentional bias), the startle response when viewing alcohol cues (affective modulation of the startle reflex) and the Stop Signal Task-Modified (behavioural inhibition). Clinical variables were evaluated using the Barrat Scale (BS), the Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAS) and the Hamilton depression Scale (HDS). Drinking variables were assessed with the Timeline follow back (TLF). Results: Attentional bias correlated with the number of drinking days, mean intake of alcohol and score of the HDS. Affective modulation of the startle reflex correlated with mean intake of alcohol, scores of the HDS and the BS. Behavioural inhibition correlated with scores of the HDS, the HAS and the BS. Conclusions: Psychophysiological tasks correlated with drinking variables (mean intake of alcohol and the number of drinking days) and clinical variables (impulsivity, anxiety and depression). Clinicians should take these variables into account when treating alcoholics because they can be controlled with appropriate pharmacological treatment and it is well known that attentional bias, affective modulation of the startle reflex and behavioural inhibition are implicated in maintaining alcohol consumption and increasing the risk of relapse.