The association between modified Nordic diet with sleep quality and circadian rhythm in overweight and obese woman: a cross-sectional study

Are there any interactions between modified Nordic-style diet score and MC4R polymorphism on cardiovascular risk factors among overweight and obese women? A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in women globally. Recent studies have reported that the minor allele (C allele) for melanocortin 4 receptor (MC4R) rs17782313 may be related to the incidence of obesity and the risk of CVD. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the interactions between the modified Nordic-style diet score (MND) and MC4R gene variant on markers of CVD.

METHODS

The current cross-sectional study was conducted on 282 Iranian women, aged 18-48 years, with a body mass index (BMI) ≥ 25. MND score was assessed using a 147 items food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Genotyping of the MC4R (rs17782313) was conducted by the PCR method. The anthropometric measurements and serum profiles were assessed by standard protocols.

RESULTS

The means and standard deviation (SD) of age, weight, and BMI of individuals were 36.67 ± 9.10 years, 81.29 ± 12.43 kg, and 31.26 ± 4.29 kg/m², respectively. The overall prevalence of rs17782313 genotypes was 30.1%, 24.8%, and 45.1% for TT, TC, and CC, respectively. Our results showed significant negative interactions between high MND score and rs17782313 SNP in terms of visceral fat level (VFL) (β: -10.84, 95% CI: -20.64 to -1.04, P = 0.03) and total cholesterol (β: -24.24, 95% CI: -49.87 to 1.38, P = 0.06) in the crude model. After adjusting confounders, the interaction between high MND scores and VFL remained significant.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, the results of the present study suggest that diet, gene variants, and their interaction should be considered in metabolic disease risk assessment. Further studies are needed to confirm these data and better elucidate the interaction.

Mediterranean Diet on Sleep: A Health Alliance

The Mediterranean diet is a plant-based, antioxidant-rich, unsaturated fat dietary pattern that has been consistently associated with lower rates of noncommunicable diseases and total mortality, so that it is considered one of the healthiest dietary patterns. Clinical trials and mechanistic studies have demonstrated that the Mediterranean diet and its peculiar foods and nutrients exert beneficial effects against inflammation, oxidative stress, dysmetabolism, vascular dysfunction, adiposity, senescence, cognitive decline, neurodegeneration, and tumorigenesis, thus preventing age-associated chronic diseases and improving wellbeing and health. Nocturnal sleep is an essential physiological function, whose alteration is associated with health outcomes and chronic diseases. Scientific evidence suggests that diet and sleep are related in a bidirectional relationship, and the understanding of this association is important given their role in disease prevention. In this review, we surveyed the literature concerning the current state of evidence from epidemiological studies on the impact of the Mediterranean diet on nighttime sleep quantity and quality. The available studies indicate that greater adherence to the Mediterranean diet is associated with adequate sleep duration and with several indicators of better sleep quality. Potential mechanisms mediating the effect of the Mediterranean diet and its foods and nutrients on sleep are described, and gap-in-knowledge and new research agenda to corroborate findings are discussed.