Insomnia in Bangladeshi Young Adults During the COVID‐19 Pandemic: The Role of Behavioral Factors, COVID‐19 Risk and Fear, and Mental Health Issues

16, August 2021 |

Authors:

Abstract

Background Given the importance of sleep, several studies were conducted during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh, but no study was conducted during the second wave. Thus, this study assessed the prevalence rate, associated factors, and predictive models of insomnia during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods An online-based cross-sectional survey was conducted during the second wave of the pandemic (within April 1–13, 2021) and collected information on sociodemographic, behavior and health, COVID-19 risk, fear of COVID-19, depression, anxiety, suicidality, and insomnia. A total of 756 data from Bangladeshi young adults (22.24 ± 4.39 years) were finally analyzed. Results About 13% of the participants (n = 98 out of a total of 756) had the symptoms of insomnia. Insomnia had a signifi- cant gender difference, where females were more prone to be insomniac. Besides, middle class, urban residence, smoking status, not engaging in physical exercise, poor health status, and multi-comorbidities were also profoundly associated with insomnia. In addition, fear of COVID-19, COVID-19 risk, and mental health problems (i.e., depression, anxiety, and suici- dality) showed a significant relationship in terms of insomnia. A total of 31.2% variance predicting insomnia was identified considering all of the studied variables. Conclusions The prevalence of insomnia reported herein seems relatively lower than the prior studies, but this figure is not neglectable. Thus, the identified associated factors are highly suggested to consider in policy actions with a special focus on mental health problems to elevate the risk of sleep problems.