Association between sleep duration and patterns and obesity: a cross-sectional study of the 2007-2018 national health and nutrition examination survey.

OBJECTIVE

We intend to explore whether sleep duration and sleep patterns were associated with obesity among the adult American population.

METHODS

Our study analyzed data from 4540 adults (2007-2008, 2015-2018) in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) database. Self-reported questionnaires were used to collect data on sleep duration, excessive daytime sleepiness, and sleep problems. The overall sleep pattern score was calculated and categorized into three types: healthy, intermediate, and poor sleep patterns. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to calculate the associations between sleep duration, sleep patterns and obesity. We further conducted linearity tests using restricted cubic splines to explore the dose-response relationship between sleep duration and obesity. Additionally, we performed stratified and interaction analyses to understand if this relationship was stable in different subgroups.

RESULTS

After adjusting for potential confounding factors, sleep duration (odds ratio [OR] = 0.91, 95% confidence interval [CI]:0.87-0.95, P < 0.001) and sleep pattern score (OR = 1.18, 95% CI: 1.1-1.27, P < 0.001) were independently associated with obesity. There was a non-linear relationship between sleep duration and obesity, with a threshold of approximately 9.73 h. The effects and CI below and above the threshold were 0.89 (0.849-0.936) and 2.023 (1.113-3.677), respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Unhealthy sleep patterns and shorter sleep duration were positively correlated with obesity occurrence, and there was a non-linear relationship between sleep duration and the occurrence of obesity. Interventions aimed at promoting healthy sleep habits and appropriate sleep duration may be important in reducing the risk of obesity.