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. 2022 Dec 12;45(12):zsac241.
doi: 10.1093/sleep/zsac241.

Dietary Inflammatory Index and sleep quality and duration among pregnant women with overweight or obesity

Michael D Wirth  1   2   3 , Jihong Liu  2 , McKenzie K Wallace  4 , Alexander C McLain  2 , Gabrielle M Turner-McGrievy  5 , Jean E Davis  1 , Nicole Ryan  6 , James R Hébert  2   3
Affiliations

Dietary Inflammatory Index and sleep quality and duration among pregnant women with overweight or obesity

Michael D Wirth et al. Sleep. .

Abstract

Study objectives: Sleep disturbances, which can worsen during pregnancy, have been linked to inflammatory processes. This study tested the hypothesis that more pro-inflammatory diets during pregnancy are associated with a decrease in sleep quality and shorter sleep duration.

Methods: The Health in Pregnancy and Postpartum study promoted a healthy lifestyle in pregnant women with pre-pregnancy overweight or obesity (n = 207). Data from <16 weeks and 32 weeks gestation were used. Sleep was measured using BodyMedia's SenseWear® armband. Diet was assessed using two 24-hr dietary recalls. Energy-density Dietary Inflammatory Index (E-DIITM) scores were calculated from micro and macronutrients. Linear mixed-effects models estimated the impact of the E-DII score on sleep parameters.

Results: Women with more pro-inflammatory diets, compared to those with more anti-inflammatory diets, were more likely to be nulliparous (51% vs. 25%, p = 0.03), frequent consumers of fast food (29% vs. 10% consuming on 4-6 days during the previous week, p = 0.01), ever-smokers (21% vs. 6%, p = 0.02), and younger (mean age 29.2 vs. 31.3 years, p = 0.02). For every one-unit increase (i.e., more pro-inflammatory) in the E-DII score, sleep latency increased by 0.69 min (p < 0.01). Among European Americans only, every one-unit higher E-DII was associated with a 2.92-min longer wake-after-sleep-onset (p = 0.02).

Conclusion: An E-DII score that is 5 points lower (i.e., more anti-inflammatory) would equate to about 105 min of additional sleep per week among European American women. Anti-inflammatory diets may help to counteract detriments in sleep during pregnancy, especially among European American women. Additional work is needed among African American women.

Clinical trials identifier: Name: Promoting Health in Pregnancy and Postpartum (HIPP); URL: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02260518; Registration Identifier: NCT02260518.

Keywords: Dietary Inflammatory Index; diet; inflammation; pregnancy; sleep.

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