Study on the correlation between dietary structure and sleep in patients with insomnia disorder

Z. Zou, L.-L. Xu, Q.-Y. Wang, Q. Li, J.-D. Zhu, L. Xu

Department of Radiology, Henan Provincial People’s Hospital, Zhengzhou, Henan, China. liqiangdoctor@zzu.edu.cn

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• Neurology
• Nutrition

OBJECTIVE: Insomnia disorder (ID) is a persistent difficulty sleeping, often accompanied by anxiety and depression, which seriously reduces a person’s quality of life. Dietary changes in insomnia patients have been a concern. To explore the rationality of diet in patients with ID and its correlation with insomnia in ID patients.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: This study included 216 patients diagnosed with ID and 197 individuals as the healthy control (HC) group who attended the neurology outpatient clinic or sleep clinic at Henan Provincial People’s Hospital between September 2018 and November 2019. Through the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA), and Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD), sleep and mental conditions were assessed in the ID and HC groups. The dietary intake structure of both groups was observed using the food frequency table. Meanwhile, the relationship between dietary intake and sleep quality was analyzed based on the logistics regression.

RESULTS: Individuals in the ID group had significantly higher age, weight, and body mass index compared to the HC group (p<0.01). Individuals within the ID category demonstrated a heightened daily consumption of carbohydrates, grains, tubers, and legumes relative to the healthy control group. In contrast, the intake levels of vegetables, fruits, and nuts were diminished compared to the HC group, with this difference being statistically significant (p<0.01). A positive correlation was observed between the daily consumption of grains, tubers, and legumes and PSQI scores. Conversely, a negative association was found between daily consumption of vegetables and fruits.

CONCLUSIONS: ID patients exhibit an elevated intake of carbohydrates, whereas the consumption of vegetables, fruits, and nuts is deficient in comparison to the healthy cohort, implying that a distorted dietary structure might be a contributing factor to ID onset. Sensible and scientific dietary guidance is of considerable significance in preventing the onset of ID and facilitating its management. However, the derived conclusions warrant further extensive research.

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