Sleep disturbances, fear, and generalized anxiety during the COVID-19 shut down phase in Germany: relation to infection rates, deaths, and German stock index DAX

• Published in: Sleep medicine 2020-11, Vol.75, p.350-353
• Main Authors: Hetkamp, Madeleine, Schweda, Adam, Bäuerle, Alexander, Weismüller, Benjamin, Kohler, Hannah, Musche, Venja, Dörrie, Nora, Schöbel, Christoph, Teufel, Martin, Skoda, Eva-Maria
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Anxiety - diagnosis; Anxiety - epidemiology; Brief Communication; COVID-19 - economics; COVID-19 - mortality; COVID-19 - psychology; COVID-19 virus; Cross-Sectional Studies; Fear; Fear - psychology; Generalized anxiety; Germany - epidemiology; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Pandemics; Quarantine - legislation & jurisprudence; Quarantine - psychology; SARS-CoV-2; Sleep disturbances; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders - diagnosis; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders - epidemiology; Stock index; Surveys and Questionnaires; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1389-9457; 1878-5506
• DOI: 10.1016/j.sleep.2020.08.033

The COVID-19 pandemic impacts the whole world. So far, nothing is known about the course of psychological disturbances, such as fear, anxiety, and sleep disturbances of this pandemic over time in Europe. Aim of this web-based survey was to assess the mental health burden of the German public over a period of 50 days after the COVID-19 outbreak. 16,245 individuals responded regarding sleep disturbances, COVID-19-fear, and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD-7). Data were put in relation to infection rates, number of deaths and the German stock index. The specific fear increased rapidly in concordance with infection numbers. However, no relation to the number of deaths was found, COVID-19-fear developed reversed to the stock index. Initially, 13.5% of the respondents reported a reduced sleep quality, and 7.2% a moderate generalized anxiety; proceeding simultaneously with high peaks. Finally, more than twice as many respondents showed psychological burdens. The COVID-19-fear decreased within six weeks to the level before the shutdown, indicating a habituation to the threatening situation. However, generalized anxiety remained elevated over time. Sleep disturbances, generalized anxiety as well as economical stock alterations develop in advance to infectiological trends which demands consequent and comprehensible information policies. [Display omitted] •Highly topical issue of mental health aspects of COVID-19 pandemic.•During pandemic, sleep disturbances are related to generalized anxiety (GAD).•High peaks of GAD and sleep disturbances when political landmarks occur.•COVID-19-fear is inversely related to German stock index DAX in time curse.•Sleep complaints are not associated with reported new COVID-19 cases or deaths.