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

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.