0240 Hormonal Contraceptives Impair Psychomotor Vigilance Task Performance Under Sleep Deprivation with Stress Induction

Introduction Hormonal contraceptives (HC) have been shown to impact cognitive performance in different ways depending on the domain being measured, but limited research has assessed the influence of HC on cognitive performance during sleep deprivation. In line with prior research demonstrating greater fatigue among individuals using HC, we hypothesized that psychomotor vigilance task (PVT) performance would be worse among HC females than naturally cycling (NC) females across a period of sleep deprivation, as compared to males. Methods Forty-eight participants (18-30 years; 23 females) were sleep deprived for 32 hours and completed 4 Maastrict Acute Stress Tasks between approximately 7pm and 7am. A PVT was administered every 2 hours between 12pm on Day 1 and 2pm on Day 2. Several metrics were log-transformed before mixed effects models were created with PVT score (Lapses, Speed, Reaction Time, and False Starts) as the outcome, group (males, NC females, HC females) and time as fixed effects, and participant as a random effect. Results A significant group effect was identified for PVT Lapses (F(2,45) = 3.75; p = 0.031) and Bonferroni-corrected pairwise comparisons revealed that HC females, but not NC females, had significantly more lapses than males at timepoints 9 (4am), 11 (8am), 12 (10am), and 13 (12pm) (Cohen’s d range = 0.47-0.64; p < 0.03). A significant group effect was also identified for PVT Speed (F(2,45) = 3.43; p = 0.04), with HC females, but not NC females, taking significantly longer than males at timepoints 9-14 (4am-2pm) (Cohen’s d range = 0.47-0.60; p < 0.03). There were no significant effects of group on PVT Reaction Time or False Starts. Conclusion HC females, but not NC females, performed significantly worse than males in terms of PVT lapses and speed during the second half of a 32-hour sleep deprivation protocol. Further work is needed to comprehensively evaluate the effects of HC on cognitive performance in a larger sample of real-world sleep deprivation scenarios and understand potential underlying mechanisms that drive these effects. Support (if any)