Association of sleep duration with Visceral Adiposity Index: a cross-sectional study based on the NHANES 2007–2018

Abstract

ObjectiveWe aimed to assess the associations between sleep duration and Visceral Adiposity Index (VAI).DesignCross-sectional study.SettingThe National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2007–2018).ParticipantsA total 11 252 eligible participants who have complete information for sleep duration and VAI.Outcome measureThe VAI index, which is sex-specific and takes into consideration factors such as waist circumference, body mass index, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglycerides, was calculated in accordance with prior research. Multiple linear regressions and subgroup analyses were employed to evaluate the connection between the duration of sleep and the VAI.ResultsThe mean sleep duration and VAI of included participants were 7.05 hours/day and 2.03, respectively. After adjusting for the sociodemographic, lifestyle and other covariates, short sleep was significantly linked to increased VAI (β=0.15, 95% CI 0.01 to 0.28) in relation to middle sleep duration, whereas no significant association was found between long sleep duration and VAI. An L-shaped relationship was observed between sleep duration and VAI. When sleep duration was less than 7.5 hours/day, a negative association between sleep duration and VAI was obvious. However, when sleep duration was >7.5 hours/day, VAI was increased with a longer sleep duration, although it was not significant.ConclusionsAn L-shaped relationship was observed between sleep duration and VAI, with insufficient sleep, being independently linked to a higher VAI. This implies that sleep deprivation might be associated with visceral adipose distribution and disfunction.