A greater modified Mediterranean diet score is associated with lower insomnia score among adolescent girls: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Previous studies has shown that a low quality diet is related to sleep disorders. A Mediterranean diet is considered to be a high quality diet and has been shown to have beneficial effects on overall health. Thus, the aim of our study was to investigate the association between adherence to Mediterranean dietary pattern and insomnia score among adolescent girls. METHODS: The data for 733 adolescent girls between 12–18 years old was assessed in this cross-sectional study. A 147 item-food frequency questionnaire was used to assess dietary intake. A modified model of Mediterranean diet score was calculated that ranged from 0–9 points. A validated version of Insomnia Severity Index questionnaire was used to assess insomnia. To explore the association between modified Mediterranean (mMED) diet score and insomnia, linear regression was conducted in crude and adjusted models (energy intake adjustmet in Model I, further adjustments were performed for physical activity, father’s and mother’s education in Model II and full adjusted model adjusted for age, body mass index percentiles, and abdominal obesity). RESULTS: A significant inverse association between mMED diet score and insomnia score was observed using a crude model (β = -0.091, 95% confidence interval (CI): -0.392 to -0.046); P-value = 0.013) and also after adjustment for confounding factors in Model I (β = -0.098, CI: -0.423 to -0.045; P = 0.015), Model II (β = -0.092, CI: -0.410 to -0.029; P-value = 0.024), Model III (β = -0.082, CI: -0.385 to -0.006); P = 0.044). CONCLUSION: There was an inverse relationship between adherence to the mMED diet score and insomnia level among Iranian adolescent girls. Prospective studies are needed to confirm these results and clarify whether a causal relationship exists.