Food insecurity is associated with the sleep quality and quantity in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Seyadeh Narges Mazloomi; Sepide Talebi; Maryam Kazemi; Seyed Mojtaba Ghoreishy; Seyedeh Parisa Moosavian; Parsa Amirian; Hamed Mohammadi; Saeedeh Nouri-Majd; Wolfgang Marx; Mohammad Ali Hojjati Kermani; Sajjad Moradi

doi:10.1017/S1368980022002488

Food insecurity is associated with the sleep quality and quantity in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Public Health Nutr. 2022 Nov 23;26(4):1-11. doi: 10.1017/S1368980022002488. Online ahead of print.

Affiliations

¹ The Health of Plant and Livestock Products Research Center, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
² Food and Drug Administration, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
³ Department of Clinical Nutrition, School of Nutritional Sciences and Dietetics, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
⁴ Hilda and J. Lester Gabrilove Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Bone Disease, Department of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
⁵ Department of Community Nutrition, Vice-Chancellery for Health, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
⁶ General Practitioner, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences (KUMS), Kermanshah, Iran.
⁷ Department of Community Nutrition, School of Nutritional Sciences and Dietetics, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
⁸ Deakin University, IMPACT - the Institute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation, School of Medicine, Barwon Health, Geelong, Australia.
⁹ Clinical Tuberculosis and Epidemiology Research Center, National Research Institute of Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases (NRITLD), Masih Daneshvari Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
¹⁰ Nutritional Sciences Department, School of Nutritional Sciences and Food Technology, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran.

Abstract

Objective: We evaluated associations between food insecurity (FI) and the quality and quantity of sleep in adults (≥18 years).

Design: The current study represented a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies.

Setting: Databases of PubMed, Scopus, Embase and Web of Science were searched from inception until 6 June 2022. Meta-analyses were conducted using random-effects models, and effect sizes were reported as OR and 95 % CI.

Participants: Data from ten eligible observational studies, including 83 764 participants, were included.

Results: FI was associated with an increased risk of poor sleep quality (OR = 1·45; 95 % CI (1·24, 1·70), I² = 95, P < 0·001, n 7). Besides, subgroup analysis showed increased risk of poor sleep quality corresponding to the severity of FI across mild (OR = 1·31; 95 % CI (1·16, 1·48), I² = 0 %, P < 0·001, n 5), moderate (OR = 1·49; 95 % CI (1·32, 1·68), I² = 0 %, P < 0·001, n 5) and severe (OR = 1·89; 95 % CI (1·63, 2·20), I² = 0 %, P < 0·001, n 5) levels. Similarly, subgroup analysis by sleep problems showed that FI was associated with an increased the risk of trouble falling asleep (OR = 1·39; 95 % CI (1·05, 1·83), I² = 91 %, P = 0·002, n 3) and trouble staying asleep (OR = 1·91; 95 % CI (1·37, 2·67), I² = 89 %, P < 0·001, n 3). Moreover, FI was associated with the odds of shorter (OR = 1·14; 95 % CI (1·07, 1·21), I² = 0 %, P < 0·001, n 4) and longer sleep duration (OR = 1·14; 95 % CI (1·03, 1·26), I² = 0 %, P = 0·010, n 4).

Conclusions: Collective evidence supports that FI is associated with poor sleep quality and quantity in adults. Preventative and management strategies that address FI may provide health benefits beyond improving nutritional status per se.

Keywords: Food insecurity; Meta-analysis; Sleep; Systematic review.

Publication types

Review