Nature and Science of Sleep (Sep 2022)

Association of Dietary Behaviors with Poor Sleep Quality and Increased Risk of Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Korean Military Service Members

  • Choi Y,
  • Son B,
  • Shin WC,
  • Nam SU,
  • Lee J,
  • Lim J,
  • Kim S,
  • Yang C,
  • Lee H

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 14
pp. 1737 – 1751

Abstract

Read online

Yujin Choi,1,* Byunwoo Son,2,* Woo-Chul Shin,3,4 Seong-uk Nam,5 Jaehong Lee,6 Jinwoong Lim,3,7 Sungha Kim,1 Changsop Yang,1 Hyeonhoon Lee8– 10 1KM Science Research Division, Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, Daejeon, Republic of Korea; 2Combined Dispensary, 7th Corps, Republic of Korea Army, Icheon, Republic of Korea; 3Department of Clinical Korean Medicine, Graduate School, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Republic of Korea; 4Medical Company, 1st Airborne Special Forces Brigade, Republic of Korea Army, Seoul, Republic of Korea; 5 28th Division, Republic of Korea Army, Yangju-si, Republic of Korea; 6Medical Corps, The Capital Defense Command, Seoul, Republic of Korea; 7Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Wonkwang University Gwangju Korean Medicine Hospital, Gwangju, Republic of Korea; 8Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea; 9Biomedical Research Institute, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea; 10 9th Division, Republic of Korea Army, Goyang, Republic of Korea*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Changsop Yang, KM Science Research Division, Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, 1672, Yuseong-daero, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 34054, Republic of Korea, Tel +82-42-869-2705, Fax +82-42-868-9395, Email [email protected] Hyeonhoon Lee, Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, 101 Daehak-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, 03080, Republic of Korea, Tel +82-2-2072-0505, Fax +82-2-747-5639, Email [email protected]: Sleep quality among military service members is important for enhancing their capabilities and preventing psychiatric problems. We aimed to explore the association of dietary behaviors with poor sleep quality and increased risk of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in military men on active duty.Patients and Methods: A large-scale multi-site cross-sectional survey was conducted in five units of the Republic of Korea’s army. Poor sleep quality and increased risk of OSA were defined using the Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) and Berlin Questionnaire, respectively. Information on dietary behaviors, including the frequency of skipping breakfast, eating snacks, consuming a night meal, and overeating, were collected.Results: From August 2021 to September 2021, 4389 male respondents, mean age (20.8 ± 1.3 years), completed the survey; 2579 (58.8%) were assessed as having poor sleep quality, and 614 (14.0%) increased risk of OSA. After adjusting for lifestyle and occupational covariates, skipping breakfast 1– 2 times weekly was associated with an increased likelihood of experiencing poor sleep quality, compared with not skipping breakfast (odds ratio: 1.23 [95% CI 1.02– 1.47]). Eating night meals 5– 6 times weekly was also associated with poor sleep quality (odds ratio: 5.54 [95% CI 2.49– 14.18]). In addition, skipping breakfast daily (odds ratio: 2.28 [95% CI 1.27– 4.03]) and eating night meals daily (odds ratio: 2.30 [95% CI 1.21– 4.22]) were related to an increased risk of OSA.Conclusion: Dietary behaviors appear to be related to poor sleep quality and a high risk of OSA. To improve sleep quality, dietary factors could be considered when promoting health programs for military personnel in further research.Keywords: sleep, dietary behavior, insomnia, obstructive sleep apnea, military

Keywords