Is night eating syndrome associated with obstructive sleep apnea, BMI, and depressed mood in patients from a sleep laboratory study?

Abstract

Purpose To assess night eating syndrome (NES) in patients referred for polysomnography and its association with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). We also assessed whether participants with OSA were more likely to get up and eat at night, and whether these behaviors were associated with the apnea-hypopnea sleep index (AHI). We additionally examined whether NES and OSA were associated with BMI, and assessed depressed mood among participants with NES or OSA. Methods The Night Eating Diagnostic Questionnaire (NEDQ), Zung Depression Scale, and demographic and medical questionnaires were used to evaluate 84 qualified participants. Polysomnography was used to assess AHI, and therefore OSA. Results Thirty individuals met full or sub-threshold NES (NES[St]) criteria, and 54 had no night eating (Normal). Eighty-nine percent of the sample had OSA with AHI ≥ 5. Neither AHI nor BMI differed between NES(St) and Normal, F(1,82)=1.67, p=.20 and F(1, 82)=2.2, p =.14, respectively. Participants with NES(St) were, however, more likely than Normal to have depressed mood (mild, moderately, or severely depressed), χ2=4.47 p=.03. There was a positive correlation between AHI and BMI, r=.37, p=.001. Those with OSA were not more likely to eat at night, F(1,82) = .04, p = .84, or get out of bed more often, F(1,13) = .23, p = .64, and there was no correlation between AHI and eating at night (r = −.11, p = .31). However, there was a positive correlation between AHI and the number of times participants got up out of bed (r = .81, p < .001). Conclusions We found that NES was not associated with BMI or AHI severity. The findings show that NES is primarily an eating disorder, rather than a sleep disorder, and that there is an association between NES and depressed mood.

<p>Night-Eating Syndrome and Depressive Symptoms in College Freshmen: Fitness Improvement Tactics in Youths (FITYou) Project</p>

“…Geliebter et al reported that the people with night-eating syndrome were more likely to have a depressed mood than those without the syndrome, by using univariate analysis. 7 A cross-sectional study including 404 Korean nurses indicated that those with night-eating syndrome were 1.65 times more likely to have a greater severity of depressive symptoms than those without the syndrome. 17 Another observational study investigated the prevalence of night-eating syndrome among patients with major depression and clinical differences between patients with and without night-eating syndrome.…”

“…Geliebter et al reported that the subjects with night-eating syndrome, primarily an eating disorder, were more likely to have a depressed mood. 7 Most recently, a study of 301 Italian non-clinical adolescents aged 15-19 years indicated a significant association between nighteating syndrome and depressive symptoms. 8 We previously reported that habitual snacking after dinner was significantly associated with the incidence of depressive symptoms in Japanese middle-aged adults during a 2-year follow-up.…”

Pattern of BMI and associated factors in residents of Hussainabad aged 15 years and above.

“…25 On the other hand, another study was unable to find the positive link between the nocturnal eating and increased BMI but did find positive association between nocturnal eating and depression. 26 Nocturnal eaters suffer from disturbed and short sleep cycles. 27,28 Disturbed and short sleep cycles are themselves an independent predisposing factors for increased BMI.…”

Sleep Pathologies and Eating Disorders: A Crossroad for Neurology, Psychiatry and Nutrition

“…The relationship between NES and OSA is not straightforward, as explorative studies have produced partially divergent results [66][67][68]. Generally, the frequency of sleep-related eating disorders is not directly associated with the severity of OSA, measured by the apnea/hypopnea index (AHI).…”