Association between adherence to the dietary approaches to stop hypertension (DASH) diet and maternal and infant sleep disorders

Background Maternal diet is known to be important to both mother and infant health. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association between adherence to the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) dietary pattern (DP) and sleep problems in mothers and their infants. Methods The study included 350 breastfeeding mothers with an average age of 29.5 +/- 5.9 years. Psychological functions were performed using standard questionnaires, including a Quality-of-Life Questionnaire (QLQ), Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), Spielberger Anxiety Questionnaire (SAQ), Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and Infant Sleep Questionnaire (ISQ). Also, a standardized food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) was used to identify adherence to the DASH DP. Results Subjects in the highest tertile of DASH DP had significantly lower scores of mother's sleep latency (0.70 +/- 1.18 vs. 1.24 +/- 1.3; P value = 0.031), sleep disorders (4.3 +/- 1.6 vs. 5.3 +/- 2.4; P value= 0.032) and higher mother sleep efficiency compared to those in the lowest tertile (97.5 +/- 89 vs. 54.8 +/- 90; P value= 0.011). Also, infants of mothers with higher adherence to a DASH DP had lower sleep disorders compared with subjects with low adherence (4.9 +/- 3.8 vs. 5.7 +/- 3.2; P value= 0.017). After controlling for the mother's education, economic status, age, body mass index (BMI), and energy intake, adherence to the DASH pattern was associated with shorter sleep latency (beta = 0.60; 95%CI: 0.49-0.82), fewer sleep disorders score in mothers (beta = 0.92; 95%CI: 0.85-0.99) and their infants (beta = 0.90; 95%CI: 0.84-0.96) as well as high mother's sleep efficiency (beta = 1.2; 95%CI: 1.1-1.31). Conclusions According to our findings, adherence to DASH DP is associated with a lower score for sleep disorders in mothers and their infants.