Interaction between ultra-processed food intake and genetic risk score on mental health and sleep quality

A Systematic Review of the Bidirectional Association Between Consumption of Ultra-processed Food and Sleep Parameters Among Adults

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

We summarized research on the bidirectional association between intake of ultra-processed food (UPF) and sleep.

RECENT FINDINGS

Sleep contributes to cardiometabolic health in part via food intake patterns. Restricting sleep increases intakes of high-carbohydrate/high-fat foods, a profile representative of UPF. This systematic review covers the association of UPF intake, as an exposure or an outcome, and sleep. UPF was defined as NOVA Group 4. MEDLINE and EMBASE were searched through April 2023 for epidemiological studies with general-population adult samples. Fifteen studies met the inclusion criteria; all were cross-sectional, published between 2016 and 2023, with samples from Brazil (n = 8), Spain (n = 2), Italy (n = 1), the UK (n = 1), Paraguay (n = 1), Iran (n = 1) and China (n = 1). Thirteen studies examined UPF intake as the exposure whereas two tested UPF intake as the outcome. UPF intakes were determined using food frequency questionnaires (73%) or 24-h recalls (27%). Two studies assessed sleep via accelerometry; the remaining studies relied on self-reports of sleep quality, duration, anxiety-induced insomnia, and napping, with 60% using a single question. The average methodological quality across the studies was deemed "fair". Six of the 13 studies that examined UPF consumption as the exposure revealed inverse associations with sleep outcomes in adjusted (n = 5) or bivariate (n = 1) analyses. Both studies addressing UPF consumption as the outcome and sleep as the exposure showed significant inverse associations. Evidence for UPF-sleep associations is accumulating, although sleep assessment limitations are apparent. This review can provide impetus for research using comprehensive and validated sleep measures and nudge policymakers towards refining dietary guidelines worldwide.

The association between cholesterol/saturated fat index (CSI) and quality of sleep, and circadian rhythm among overweight and obese women: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

The decline in sleep quality is one of the main public health problems affecting the global population. Some studies have shown that a high-fat diet may be linked to changes in circadian rhythm and sleep quality. The cholesterol/saturated fatty acid index (CSI) determines the amount of cholesterol and saturated fatty acid (SFA) in people's dietary patterns and can affect the quality of sleep and circadian rhythm. However, to date, no studies have investigated the effect of this index on these two variables. Therefore, our aim was to investigate the relationship between CSI on circadian rhythm and sleep quality in obese and overweight women.

METHOD

This cross-sectional study included 378 adult women who were obese or overweight. Using accepted techniques, anthropometric measurements, blood pressure readings, and biochemical variables were evaluated. A validated and trustworthy semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ 147 items) was used to gauge dietary intake. The CSI was measured to find out how much cholesterol and saturated fats were in the diet. Additionally, to assess circadian rhythm and sleep quality, respectively, the valid morning-evening questionnaire (MEQ) and Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) questionnaires were utilized.

RESULT

The results of the multinomial logistic regression model of our analysis showed that a significant association was observed between circadian rhythm status with CSI score, and participants with one higher unit of CSI had a 7.3% more chance of being in the eveningness group than being in morningness category in the crude model (OR: 1.07; 95% CI 1.00, 1.14; P = 0.026). This association remains marginally significant when adjusting for age, energy intake, BMI, job status, thyroid, and smoking status (OR = 1.08; 95% CI 1.00, 1.16; P = 0.051). The binary logistic regression model showed that after controlling for potentially confounding variables, there was no significant association between sleep quality with CSI score, however, those with one higher unit of CSI had 1.6% more chance of having sleep problems (OR: 1.01; 95% CI 0.96, 1.06; P = 0.503).

CONCLUSION

Our results indicated a direct marginally significant association between CSI with evening type in overweight and obese women. Future studies are needed to clarify the precise link between circadian rhythm and sleep behavior with fatty acid quality index.