Effects of long-term consumption of spicy food during pregnancy on postoperative sleep quality in women after cesarean section

Abstract

Objective To explore the relationship between spicy food intake during pregnancy and sleep quality after cesarean section (CS) in order to provide reference for early postoperative recovery. Methods A total of 332 clinical cases who underwent elective CS in our hospital from May 2018 to May 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. According to the frequency of spicy food consumption during pregnancy, the patients were divided into the frequency of spicy food consumption < 2 days/week (group A) and frequency of ≥2 days /week (group B). Propensity score matching (PSM), logistic regression and subgroup analysis were used to analyze the effects of different frequency of spicy food consumption on severe sleep disorders after CS. Results After confound adjustment by PSM, 114 patients in each group were included in the analysis. The results showed that the incidences of sleep disorders and severe sleep disorders on the night after surgery were 83.3 % and 26.3 % respectively, in group B, which were higher than those in group A (70.2% and 7.9%, P < 0.05). The anal exhaust rate in the first 24 h after operation was 34.2% and 15.8% in group A and group B (P < 0.05). Binary logistic regression analysis showed that high-frequency of spicy food intake during pregnancy (OR=3.310, 95%CI: 1.550~7.068, P=0.002) was an independent risk factor for severe sleep disorders on the night after CS. The results of subgroup analysis indicated that the incidence of severe sleep disturbance on the night after CS was higher in group B than group A for the first CS, the second CS, and the previous CS ≥2 times (22.1% vs 7.7%, P=0.139; 20.1% vs 8.0%, P=0.014; 37.5% vs 12.5%, P=0.569). Conclusion High frequency of spicy food consumption during pregnancy may be related to the sleep disorders after CS.

Keywords

• capsaicin
• sleep disturbance
• cesarean section
• dietary habits