Psychological Impact and Sleep Quality in the COVID-19 Pandemic in Brazil, Colombia and Portugal

Abstract

The objective of the study was to evaluate, through an online questionnaire, aspects related to levels of anxiety, suicidal thoughts and quality of sleep during the COVID-19 pandemic period in three countries. With 988 participants from Colombia, Brazil and Portugal. 2.1% of the subjects presented mild anxiety, 85.5% moderate levels, 12% ranged from moderate to severe and 0.3% had an extreme level of anxiety. Suicidal thinking was found at the 57% level; 31.1% moderate, 9.7% marked severe, and 2.2% extreme. Regarding sleep, 14% had good sleep quality, 53.5% poor quality and 32.5% possible sleep disorders. The difference between the values ​​of anxiety and suicidal ideation between countries was not significant. However, there is a significant difference between the distribution of sleep quality values ​​between countries. The differences are mainly between adolescents (<22 years) and other ages. Colombia differs from Brazil and Portugal in terms of quality of sleep. In addition to the health problems brought by the Covid-19 pandemic, this study showed that the adolescent population is more vulnerable to the psychological impacts and quality of sleep in countries of the South American continent.