During the COVID-19 pandemic, 26.8% of people with HIV experienced decreased sleep quality and 27.1% experienced sleep disturbance, with social determinants of health including resource access and education level significantly associated with these outcomes.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, approximately one quarter of people with HIV experienced decreased sleep quality and sleep disturbance.
The highest prevalence of sleep problems during the COVID-19 pandemic was found among participants residing in Africa.
Decreased access to resources such as food and money was significantly associated with lower likelihood of reporting decreased sleep quality.
Having no education was significantly associated with a higher likelihood of experiencing sleep disturbance compared to having at least some postsecondary education.
The study used a modified version of the Adolescent Trials Network (ATN) COVID Questionnaire to assess sleep quality and social determinants of health in adult people with HIV.
Social determinants of health, including resource access and education level, were associated with sleep outcomes in people with HIV during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This research examined how the COVID-19 pandemic affected sleep in people living with HIV (PWH) across four continents — Africa, Asia, North America, and South America. Among 1,601 participants, roughly one in four reported either worse sleep quality or sleep disturbances during the pandemic. People living in Africa had the highest rates of these sleep problems, suggesting that geographic and regional factors played a role in how the pandemic affected rest. The study also found that social and economic factors — known as social determinants of health — were strongly linked to sleep outcomes. People with no formal education were nearly three times more likely to experience sleep disturbances compared to those with at least some college or postsecondary education. Additionally, access to basic resources like food and money was associated with sleep quality in a statistically significant way, highlighting how economic vulnerability during the pandemic may have intersected with sleep health in complex ways. This research suggests that addressing sleep problems in people with HIV requires attention not just to medical factors, but also to broader social and economic conditions. The findings point to the importance of education, economic stability, and resource access as factors that may shape how people with HIV experienced the compounding stresses of living through the COVID-19 pandemic, with implications for health equity and support services for vulnerable populations globally.
Horvat Davey C, Dawson-Rose C, Nokes K, Corless I, Shaibu S, Chen W, et al.. (2026). Sleep quality and disturbance during the COVID-19 pandemic among people with HIV globally: associations with social determinants of health.. AIDS (London, England). https://doi.org/10.1097/QAD.0000000000004417