Deleterious Association of Inhalant Use on Sleep Quality during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Deepti Gunge, Jordan Marganski, Ira Advani, Shreyes Boddu, Yi Jan Ella Chen, Sagar Mehta, William Merz, Ana Lucia Fuentes, Atul Malhotra, Sarah J. Banks and Laura E. Crotty Alexander
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Deepti Gunge: Department of Medicine, Pulmonary Critical Care Section, Veterans Affairs (VA) San Diego Healthcare System, La Jolla, CA 92161, USA
Jordan Marganski: Department of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, University of California San Diego (UCSD), La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
Ira Advani: Department of Medicine, Pulmonary Critical Care Section, Veterans Affairs (VA) San Diego Healthcare System, La Jolla, CA 92161, USA
Shreyes Boddu: Department of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, University of California San Diego (UCSD), La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
Yi Jan Ella Chen: Department of Medicine, Pulmonary Critical Care Section, Veterans Affairs (VA) San Diego Healthcare System, La Jolla, CA 92161, USA
Sagar Mehta: Department of Medicine, Pulmonary Critical Care Section, Veterans Affairs (VA) San Diego Healthcare System, La Jolla, CA 92161, USA
William Merz: Department of Medicine, Pulmonary Critical Care Section, Veterans Affairs (VA) San Diego Healthcare System, La Jolla, CA 92161, USA
Ana Lucia Fuentes: Department of Medicine, Pulmonary Critical Care Section, Veterans Affairs (VA) San Diego Healthcare System, La Jolla, CA 92161, USA
Atul Malhotra: Department of Medicine, Pulmonary Critical Care Section, Veterans Affairs (VA) San Diego Healthcare System, La Jolla, CA 92161, USA
Sarah J. Banks: Department of Medicine, Pulmonary Critical Care Section, Veterans Affairs (VA) San Diego Healthcare System, La Jolla, CA 92161, USA
Laura E. Crotty Alexander: Department of Medicine, Pulmonary Critical Care Section, Veterans Affairs (VA) San Diego Healthcare System, La Jolla, CA 92161, USA

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 24, 1-8

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic generated large amounts of stress across the globe. While acute stress negatively impacts health, defining exact consequences and behavioral interventions can be difficult. We hypothesized that a generalized increase in stress and anxiety caused by continuation of the global pandemic would negatively impact sleep quality and that ever users of e-cigarettes and conventional tobacco would have more profound alterations over time. Participants were recruited via social media to complete an online survey in April 2020 (n = 554). Inhalant use was assessed through the UCSD Inhalant Questionnaire and sleep quality was gauged through the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). A set of participants (n = 217) retook the survey in June 2020. Inhalant users—historical or current e-cigarette vapers, conventional tobacco smokers, and dual users—had higher PSQI scores than never smoker/never vapers, demonstrating worse sleep quality in inhalant users. Non-smoking/non-vaping subjects who retook the survey in June 2020 had improvement in their PSQI scores by paired t test, indicating better sleep quality as the pandemic continued, while inhalant users of all types had persistently high PSQI scores (poor sleep quality). These data suggest that ever users of tobacco products may be susceptible to overall diminished sleep quality in the setting of stressful life circumstances. These data also suggest that pandemic-initiated lifestyle changes may have led to improvements in sleep quality. Finally, these findings raise concerns for correlations between either past or active e-cigarette use on sleep, and thus overall health.

Keywords: vaping; electronic cigarettes; sleep latency; marijuana; cocaine (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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