Analysis of the relationship between the Body Mass Index and daytime sleepiness in university students from Mexico

Introduction: The prevalence of overweight, obesity and sleepiness are increasing more and more in the young Mexican population, however, this relationship has been scarcely studied in university students, therefore, the objective of this study was to analyze the relationship of the Body Mass Index (BMI) with sleepiness in an undergraduate student population in Tabasco, Mexico. Methodology: An analytical cross-sectional study was carried out in 155 students, determining their BMI, while sleepiness was evaluated using the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS). The data obtained were analyzed independently and were combined in order to analyze the possible relationship between them. The statistical validity of this study was obtained through analysis developed in the SPSS statistics version 21 software. Results: 69.7% of the population was made up of men. The presence of overweight and obesity occurred in almost half of the population with 41.2%, being the group of women who have altered BMI means compared to men [mean 25.9 kg/m(2) (SD: 4.7) vs. mean 24,1 kg/m(2) (SD: 3.9)] p<0.01). With the ESE it was possible to observe that 37.4% of the students present some type of drowsiness, being the group of men the one that was observed with the greatest affectations. Regarding the analysis of the BMI with sleepiness, a p=0.00 with a confidence level of 95% was shown, confirming a relationship between these factors, with a low correlation coefficient. Conclusions: The degree of BMI tends to increase the level of sleepiness.