Impact of Sleep Disorders on Innate Immunity in COVID-19 Patients

Impact of Sleep Disorders on Innate Immunity in COVID-19 Patients. A Cohort Study

Sleep is an important modulator of the immune response, whereby sleep disturbances (ie, poor sleep quality, insufficient sleep and/or primary sleep disorder, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)) contribute to inflammatory disease risk and dysregulation of immune response in front of infectious agents.

The objective of this study is to evaluate the impact of undiagnosed and non-treated sleep disorders on innate immunity in a cohort of COVID-19 patients and the role of trained immunity induced by influenza vaccination in the innate immune response.

Sleep and immune system have reciprocal relationship. Sleep has a restorative role on immune system, influencing innate and adaptive immunity and sleep disorders can decrease immune response.

Healthy innate immunity is crucial into regulation of the response against SARS-CoV-2.

The hypothesis of the study is that the innate immunity response is blunted by sleep disorders and, this mitigated immune response, could influence on COVID-19 severity. Impaired immune response in patients with sleep disorders could be ameliorated inducing trained immunity by influenza vaccine.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Participants over 18 years old with diagnosis of COVID-19 during first year of coronavirus pandemic in March-June 2021.

Exclusion Criteria:

• >70 years and <18 years
• Recent COVID-19 (<6 months)
• Other infection (<3 months)
• Obstructive sleep apnea in treatment with CPAP prior to COVID infection.
• Immunosuppressed