Long Time, No Sleep: Sleep in Older Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Objective: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a major impact globally. While sleep problems have increased during the pandemic, their impact on specific populations is less well known. The objective of this study was to measure the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sleep and how it correlates with the feeling of isolation in individuals aged ≥ 50 years.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using data from the Survey of Health, Aging, and Retirement conducted between June and August 2020. A multivariate logistic regression model was performed to analyze the outcome "more or less trouble sleeping since the outbreak" and its main predictors.Results: The mean ± SD age of the participants was 71 ± 9 years. Since the outbreak, 29% reported a deterioration of their quality of sleep. Being male and older were found to be significant predictors of more sleep complaints (OR = 1.13; P = .004; CI, 1.04-1.23 and OR = 1.02; P = .000; CI, 1.02-1.03, respectively). Moreover, those who claimed that they often felt alone or more loneliness since the beginning of the outbreak also had more trouble sleeping (OR = 1.21; P = .002; CI, 1.07-1.37 and OR = 4.06; P = .000; CI, 2.75-5.99, respectively).Conclusions: Male sex, older age, and loneliness are associated with more sleeping difficulties since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. These findings can aid health authorities to address sleep issues in this vulnerable population more directly.

Are Patients With Alcohol-Related Seizures a Specific Subgroup?

OBJECTIVE: Alcohol-related seizures are acute symptomatic seizures most frequently associated with alcohol withdrawal. However, little is known about the phenotypic characteristics of patients with alcohol-related seizures. This study evaluated the clinical features and personality traits of alcohol use disorder patients with alcohol-related seizures. METHODS: This comparative correlational study assessed the clinical and psychological covariates of alcohol-related seizures. A total of 144 alcohol-dependent patients were recruited from an alcoholism unit from January 2017 to January 2019 and divided into 2 subgroups: alcohol-dependent patients reporting alcohol-related seizures and alcohol-dependent patients with no history of alcohol-related seizures. RESULTS: The alcohol-related seizures subgroup significantly started to abuse (F = 4.1, P = .019) and depend (F = 0.12, P = .008) on alcohol at an earlier age and had more alcohol detoxification episodes (F = 4.4, P = .048), a higher degree of alcohol dependence severity (F = 0.30, P = .009), and a more frequent family history of alcoholism (χ² = 4.9, P = .026). These patients also had lower levels of openness to experience (F = 4.0, P = .029) after adjustment for current age, age at onset of alcohol misuse and dependence, severity of alcohol dependence level, number of previous alcohol detoxifications, and family history. CONCLUSIONS: The findings will help clinicians better understand this subgroup of patients and highlight the importance of considering personality traits and other clinical features when tailoring treatment for these individuals.