Is consumption of fast-food and carbonated soft drink associated with anxiety-induced sleep disturbance among adolescents? A population-based study

© 2020 European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism Background & aims: Unhealthy dietary behaviours have been associated with poor sleep among adolescents in many developed countries; however, evidence is lacking from resource-limited settings. This study aimed to examine the associations of fast-food or carbonated soft drink consumption with anxiety-induced sleep disturbance among adolescents in Bangladesh. Methods: We analysed data from the 2014 Bangladesh Global School-based Student Health Survey. Data on past 12-month anxiety-induced sleep disturbance, and past 30-day carbonated soft drink and past 7-day fast-food consumption were collected. We used Poisson regression to examine the associations. Results: Data were available for 2742 adolescents aged 12–15 years (37% females). The prevalence of anxiety-induced sleep disturbance was 4.5%, while that of soft drink (≥3 times/day) and fast-food (≥3 days/past week) consumption were 17% and 26%, respectively. Multivariable analysis showed that adolescents who consumed carbonated soft drink ≥3 times/day had double the odds of reporting sleep disturbance than those who consumed < once/day (OR 2.05, 95% CI 1.01–4.18). Compared to those who did not have any fast-food in the past week, the odds of reporting sleep disturbance was 2.6 times higher among those who had fast-food ≥3 days during the past week (OR 2.64, 95% CI 1.33–5.24). Adolescents who had high intake of both fast-food and soft drink had 3.4 times higher odds of reporting sleep disturbance compared to those who had neither (OR 3.40, 95% CI 1.37–8.44). Conclusions: Our findings suggest positive associations between frequent consumption of soft drinks and/or fast-food with anxiety-induced sleep disturbance among adolescents. Prospective studies are needed to understand these associations better.