The negative relationship of dietary inflammatory index and sleeping quality in obese and overweight women

Abstract

Abstract. Background and aims: Substantial evidence have linked low grade inflammation with the pathophysiology of chronic diseases and psychological impairment. An integral component underlying the link is pro-inflammatory diet. While sleeping is another significant contributor, few studies have addressed the relationship between the sleep quality and inflammatory cascade with the dietary quality as a moderator. The current study assesses the relation between inflammatory potential of the diet and sleep quality in Iranian obese and overweight women. Method: A total of 219 obese and overweight adult women were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. A standard 147-item food‐frequency‐questionnaire was used to record the dietary intakes; then, the dietary inflammatosry index (DII) was derived from the result-consolidated questionnaires. Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was utilized to withdraw the sleep quality and quantity. Results: The mean (±standard deviation) age, body mass index, and PSQI of individuals were 36.49 (8.38) years, 31.04 (4.31) kg/m2, and 5.78(3.55), respectively. Patients in the highest DII quartile were the ones with the higher consumption of pro-inflammatory food, and, ~58% of participants who were in the higher quartile had a sleep disturbance status. Results revealed an inverse relationship between sleep quality and DII in the crude model (β=−0.17, p=0.01) as well as full‐adjusted model (β=0.24, p<0.001), such that women with higher DII had the poorest sleep quality. Conclusion: Based on the present observational study, obese and overweight females with higher adherence of the anti-inflammatory diet may have better sleeping status.

Dietary Inflammatory Index, Sleep Duration, and Sleep Quality: A Systematic Review

“…The remainder of the studies were conducted in young-to-middle-aged unhealthy adults [ 18 , 22 , 25 , 27 ]. While studies conducted in overweight and/or obese individuals found significant associations between higher scores on the DII and poor sleep quality [ 18 , 22 ] (apart from Tabrizi and Farhangi, 2021 [ 28 ]), other studies showed no significant association between the DII and sleep quality in individuals with sleep apnea [ 27 ] and fibromyalgia [ 25 ].…”

“…Additionally, studies conducted in obese and/or overweight individuals showed an association between reduced sleep quality and adherence to pro-inflammatory dietary patterns [ 18 , 22 ] (apart from Tabrizi and Farhangi, 2021 [ 28 ]; in which the null finding could be driven by the different statistical analysis technique, namely, the structural equational modeling, used). However, a similar pattern of results was not observed in studies conducted in populations with pain-related disorders or sleep-related breathing disorders [ 25 , 27 ].…”

“…For instance, previous studies have noted associations between (i) higher leukocyte counts and shorter sleep duration (<8 h/night) [ 13 ], (ii) higher levels of CRP and IL-6 and shorter sleep duration (<5 h/night) [ 14 ], and (iii) higher CRP levels, platelet counts, and NLR, and poorer sleep quality [ 8 , 15 , 16 ] was observed. Similarly, the inflammatory potential of the diet, namely the Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII ® : a literature-derived estimation that is associated with circulating inflammatory biomarkers) [ 17 ] has also been shown to be related to sleep outcomes, such that more pro-inflammatory diets were correlated with shorter and longer sleep durations and lower sleep quality [ 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 ]. However, other studies observed null findings [ 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 ].…”

Dietary Inflammatory Potential and its Association with Sleep Complaints in Institutionalized Older Adults: A Pilot Study

“…However, when the DII was treated as a continuous variable and not categorized into quartiles, significance was observed only for the adjusted model. 32 Another study 33 with the same objective and conducted only with women found that the participants with higher DII scores had worse sleep quality evaluated by the PSQI. 33 Godos et al 34 (2019) conducted the same study with adults and older adults from Southern Italy and observed that participants in the highest quartile of the DII were less likely to have adequate sleep quality.…”

“…32 Another study 33 with the same objective and conducted only with women found that the participants with higher DII scores had worse sleep quality evaluated by the PSQI. 33 Godos et al 34 (2019) conducted the same study with adults and older adults from Southern Italy and observed that participants in the highest quartile of the DII were less likely to have adequate sleep quality. 34 Similarly, Wirth et al 35 (2020) investigated whether an improvement in the E-DII score after 3 months of intervention with nutritional guidance, physical exercise, and stress reduction would be associated with an improvement in sleep parameters measured by actigraphy.…”