Serum Nutritional Biomarkers and Their Associations with Sleep among US Adults in Recent National Surveys

Abstract

BackgroundThe associations between nutritional biomarkers and measures of sleep quantity and quality remain unclear.MethodsCross-sectional data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) 2005–2006 were used. We selected 2,459 adults aged 20–85, with complete data on key variables. Five sleep measures were constructed as primary outcomes: (A) Sleep duration; (B) Sleep disorder; (C) Three factors obtained from factor analysis of 15 items and labeled as “Poor sleep-related daytime dysfunction” (Factor 1), “Sleepiness” (Factor 2) and “Sleep disturbance” (Factor 3). Main exposures were serum concentrations of key nutrients, namely retinol, retinyl esters, carotenoids (α-carotene, β-carotene, β-cryptoxanthin, lutein+zeaxanthin, lycopene), folate, vitamin B-12, total homocysteine (tHcy), vitamin C, 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) and vitamin E. Main analyses consisted of multiple linear, logistic and multinomial logit models.ResultsAmong key findings, independent inverse associations were found between serum vitamin B-12 and sleep duration, 25(OH)D and sleepiness (as well as insomnia), and between folate and sleep disturbance. Serum total carotenoids concentration was linked to higher odds of short sleep duration (i.e. 5–6 h per night) compared to normal sleep duration (7–8 h per night).ConclusionsA few of the selected serum nutritional biomarkers were associated with sleep quantity and quality. Longitudinal studies are needed to ascertain temporality and assess putative causal relationships.

Recommended sleep duration is associated with higher consumption of fruits and vegetables; cross-sectional and prospective analyses from the UK Women’s Cohort Study

“…The NDNS results showed SS having lower levels of plasma fruit and vegetable biomarkers compared with RS whereas this study only found lower levels of plasma vitamin C however, biomarker data (n = 145) was low compared to the number of participants with 4 day diaries (n = 12,159) and may be the reason of why no other associations were found between sleep duration and biomarkers. These results were supported by Beydoun et al among US adults however, sleep measures were the outcomes (Beydoun et al 2014). When SS (5-6 h) were compared to normal sleepers (7-8 h), total carotenoid concentration was linked to increased risk of short sleep.…”

Associations of disordered sleep with body fat distribution, physical activity and diet among overweight middle‐aged men

“…Conversely, even if the consumption of other vitamins and minerals was not deficient in terms of recommendations for basic intake, the intake differences between men with and without sleep disorder point towards potential associations between micronutrient intake and sleep. According to recent studies, lower intakes of vitamin C and potassium were associated, respectively, with non‐restorative sleep and sleepiness (Grandner et al ., ) and lower serum folate concentration was related independently to sleep disturbance (Beydoun et al ., ). Similar results are also demonstrated in our study, while the underlying mechanisms remain unclear.…”

Sex and age differences in the associations between sleep behaviors and all-cause mortality in older adults: results from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys

“…Of note, 35.9% reported <7 h (4.6% < 5 h; 31.2% 5–6 h), 56.4% reported 7–8 h and 7.7% reported >8 h of sleep. As previously described [42], we considered multiple NHANES questions for generating sleep quality indices. An exploratory factor analytic approach was used on 21 items from NHANES that were measured on a four-point or five-point Likert scale with higher scores reflecting worse sleep quality (Appendix A).…”