Sleep duration and food intake in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus and factors affecting confectionery intake

Aims/Introduction

We carried out a cross-sectional study of people with type 2 diabetes mellitus to elucidate the association between sleep duration and food intake.

Materials and Methods

Overall, 2,887 participants with type 2 diabetes mellitus (mean age 63.0 years; 61.1% men; mean glycated hemoglobin level 7.5%) were included in this study. The participants' self-reported dietary habits and sleep duration were evaluated using a brief self-administered dietary history questionnaire and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, respectively. The participants were categorized into the following four groups based on sleep duration: <6, 6–6.9, 7–7.9 (reference) and ≥8 h.

Results

No significant differences were observed between the groups regarding energy intake (kcal/day), absolute intake (g/day) or relative intake (% energy) of carbohydrates, total fat, proteins and fibers. However, confectionery intake was higher in the <6 h group and lower in the ≥8 h group than in the reference group after adjustment for confounding factors. In multivariate analysis, sleep durations <6 h and ≥8 h significantly correlated with increased (95% confidence interval 0.55 to 3.6; P = 0.0078) and decreased (95% confidence interval −4.0 to −0.32; P = 0.021) confectionery intake, respectively. Confectionery intake was positively correlated with female sex, glycated hemoglobin level and dyslipidemia, whereas it was negatively correlated with alcohol consumption and current smoking status.

Conclusions

Short sleep duration is associated with high confectionery intake in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus; this might disturb their glycemic control. Therefore, short sleepers with type 2 diabetes mellitus could improve their glycemic control by avoiding confectionery intake and maintaining adequate sleep duration.