Nature and Science of Sleep (Jun 2022)
Effects of Obstructive Sleep Apnea on SARS-CoV-2 Antibody Response After Vaccination Against COVID-19 in Older Adults
Abstract
Sergio Tufik,1 Monica Levy Andersen,1 Daniela Santoro Rosa,2 Sergio Brasil Tufik,1 Gabriel Natan Pires1 1Departamento de Psicobiologia, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil; 2Departamento de Microbiologia, Imunologia e Parasitologia, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, BrazilCorrespondence: Gabriel Natan Pires, Departamento de Psicobiologia, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Rua Napoleão de Barros, 925, São Paulo, CEP: 04024-002, Brazil, Email [email protected]; [email protected]: Previous studies have linked sleep disturbances (including sleep deprivation and obstructive sleep apnea) to an impairment in immune response after vaccination for several diseases, although it has not yet been tested for COVID-19. This study sought to evaluate the effects of obstructive sleep apnea on anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG levels after vaccination against COVID-19 among older adults.Methods: The study was based on a convenience sample of inpatients who underwent full night type-I polysomnography. Inclusion criteria included being ≥ 60 years with full COVID-19 vaccination schedule. Exclusion criteria included previous COVID-19 diagnosis (assessed via self-report), less than 15 days between last dose and IgG testing, self-report of continuous positive air pressure (CPAP) use in the last three months, having undergone CPAP or split-night polysomnography, or incomplete/invalid data.Results: Out of 122 included patients (no/mild OSA: 35; moderate: 31; severe: 56), 9.8% were considered seronegative for the IgG anti-SARS-CoV-2 test (IgG count< 50.0 AU/mL), and the median IgG levels for the whole sample was 273 AU/mL (IQR: 744), with no statistically significant differences among OSA severity groups. There was neither association between OSA severity and IgG serostatus nor correlation between IgG levels and apnea-hypopnea index. A linear regression model to predict IgG levels was built, produced an R2 value of 0.066 and the only significant predictor was time from vaccination to testing; while OSA severity was considered non-significant.Discussion: Our results demonstrate that the severity of OSA is not correlated with a decrease in anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG levels among older adults, and that the efficiency of COVID-19 vaccinations are not reduced from mild to severe OSA.Keywords: sleep, sleep apnea syndrome, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, vaccination
