Stress Markers and Post-COVID Insomnia: Investigating Copeptin and Melatonin Levels in Post-COVID-19
Abstract
Insomnia is a prevalent symptom affecting 5.4% to 64% of individuals who have recovered from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). In this study, we aimed to elucidate the role of copeptin and melatonin in the pathogenesis of post-COVID-19 and insomnia in COVID-19 survivors. Thirty COVID-19-recovered patients and fifteen healthy controls were included in the study. Patients were categorized into two groups: Individuals with post-COVID insomnia having an insomnia severity index (ISI) score above 15 (n=10) and those without (n=20). Insomnia patients received either trazodone 50 mg or mirtazapine 15 mg as a sleep disturbance treatment once a day for three months. Serum copeptin and melatonin were evaluated. Melatonin and copeptin levels demonstrated a statistical significance between the study groups (p<0.008 and p=0.039, respectively). Furthermore, the three cases who completed three months of treatment reported sleep improvement associated with a reduction in copeptin levels and an elevation in melatonin levels. To our knowledge, this study is the first to investigate copeptin levels in non-hospitalized recovered COVID-19 subjects with insomnia. Our data suggest a potential correlation between serum copeptin and insomnia among COVID-19-recovered patients. Further studies with larger cohorts could investigate the potential of copeptin as a predictive biomarker for post-COVID insomnia.
Keywords
Copeptin, COVID-19, insomnia, melatonin
This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
The study received approval from the Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Medicine, TTokat Gaziosmanpaşa University, Tokat City, Türkiye (approval number: 21-KAEK-252, Date: 22.12.2021). Informed written consent was obtained from all participants, in full compliance with the Declaration of Helsinki.
The authors would like to express their gratitude to all participants in this study.