Associations between Dietary Patterns and Sleep Problems in Adolescent Girls: A Descriptive Cross-Sectional Study

Adolescence may be accompanied by abnormalities in menstrual cycles that result in a higher incidence of sleep problems and related psychological disorders. Dietary factors can intensify or improve sleep problems. This study aimed to evaluate the association between sleep problems and habitual dietary patterns among Iranian adolescent girls.

This study was conducted in cities of Mashhad and Sabzevar, northeastern Iran. A total of 752 adolescent girls aged 12 -18 years were recruited from several schools by using a random cluster sampling method. A valid and reliable food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) was used to obtain the dietary intakes of the girls. Validated Iranian versions of the questionnaires were used to assess insomnia and daytime sleepiness prevalences.

Three major dietary patterns were identified based on the principal component analysis (PCA), including healthy, western, and traditional dietary patterns. No significant associations were found between the quartiles of healthy (OR: 1; 95% CI 0.62 -1.59, P trend = 0.75), western (OR: 1.3; 95% CI 0.8 -2.10, Ptrend = 0.16) or traditional (OR: 0.62; 95% CI 0.69 -1.82, Ptrend = 0.64) dietary patterns and sleep insomnia. In addition, there were no significant relationships between the quartiles of healthy (OR: 0.85; 95% CI 0.54 -1.69, P trend = 0.84), western (OR: 0.81; 95% CI 0.49 -1.32, Ptrend = 0.55) or traditional (OR: 1.07; 95% CI 0.66 -1.74, Ptrend = 0.9) dietary patterns and daytime sleepiness.

No significant association was observed between dietary patterns and insomnia or daytime sleepiness among adolescent girl participants.