18) PLoS One.2014 Aug 19;9(8)

Serum nutritional biomarkers and their associations with sleep among US adults in recentnational surveys.

Beydoun MA¹, Gamaldo AA¹, Canas JA², Beydoun HA³, Shah MT⁴, McNeely JM⁴, Zonderman AB¹.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

The associations between nutritional biomarkers and measures of sleep quantity and quality remain unclear.

METHODS:

Cross-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 serumconcentrations 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.

RESULTS:

Among 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).

CONCLUSIONS:

A 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.