Association of Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) diet with sleep quality and quantity, inflammation and oxidative stress in Iranian adults: a cross-sectional study

Although some studies have examined the relation of Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) diet with sleep disorders, their results were inconclusive and none of them considered inflammation and oxidative stress biomarkers as potential contributors. We evaluated the relation between MIND diet and sleep parameters in Iranian adults, taking biomarkers into account. A sample of 535 adults (46 % were female), with a mean age of 42·6 years, was selected via a multistage-cluster random sampling for this cross-sectional investigation. Dietary data were collected via a validated FFQ. Sleep quality and sleep duration were assessed by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index questionnaire. Concentration of biomarkers was assessed using participants' blood samples, taken after a period of night-fasting. In fully-adjusted model, participants in the highest (v. lowest) tertile of MIND diet had 54 % lower odds of short sleeping (ORT3v.T1 = 0·46, 95 % CI: 0·22-0·93), and subjects in the highest tertile of MIND score had 56 % lower odds of poor sleep quality (ORT3v.T1 = 0·44, 95 % CI: 0·21-0·95). These associations were stronger in participants with overweight and obesity. Higher adherence to MIND was associated with a lower probability of sleep disturbance (ORT3v.T1 = 0·27, 95 % CI: 0·08-0·89). There was no statistically significant association between the MIND diet and either oxidative stress or inflammatory biomarkers (P > 0·05). These findings highlighted inverse associations between higher MIND adherence and sleep disorders among Iranian adults. No significant associations between MIND adherence and biomarkers of inflammation and oxidative stress were found.