Insomnia and depressive symptoms in relation to unhealthy eating behaviors in bariatric surgery candidates

BACKGROUND: Alongside obesity, insomnia and depression are common public health problems. Sleep problems are currently believed to be associated with excessive food intake and metabolic disturbances. Therefore, we aimed to explore a relationship between insomnia, depressive symptoms and eating habits as well as metabolic parameters in bariatric surgery candidates. METHODS: A total of 361 unrelated obese subjects were included in this study. Severity of sleep problems was measured with Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS) and the severity of depressive symptoms was assessed with the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II). Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) was assessed by the Apnea Hypopnoea Index (AHI). Information was obtained about demographics, eating habits and lifestyle. Blood samples were collected to measure concentration of lipids (cholesterol, triglyceride, HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol), and glucose. RESULTS: The median (interquartile range) score for AIS in the study participants was 5 (3–8) with a range of 0–24 and 47% (171) participants scored ≥6 (met criteria for diagnosis of insomnia). Statistically significant correlations were found between the AIS scores and serum triglycerides and glucose concentrations, and BDI-II total scores. The highest scores on AIS and BDI-II were found in participants with high frequency of snack food consumption, in physically inactive individuals as well as in those who self-reported eating at night or who declared more than 3 intense emotions associated with a desire-to-eat. Adjusted multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that clinical insomnia was most strongly associated with daily consumption of snack foods, with the odds ratio of 3.26 (95% CI: 1.74–6.11), while depressive symptoms were strongly associated with both eating in response to ≥3 specific emotions with OR = 2.93 (95% CI: 1.26–6.78) as well as with daily consumption of snack foods with OR = 2.87 (95% CI: 1.16–5.14). CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that insomnia and depression in obese individuals are associated with eating habits, and suggest that in some patients these associations appears as major factors affecting obesity development.