Impact of associated factors and adherence to Mediterranean diet on insomnia among Arab men living in Jordan

Abstract

The detrimental health and economic burdens associated with insomnia have led to investigations examining its prevalence and potential predictors to utilize this information in insomnia prevention/treatment. Ethnicity, gender, and lifestyle habits are among the important predictors associated with insomnia. The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of insomnia and potential predictors of insomnia among Arab men living in Jordan, including Mediterranean diet (MD) adherence. The inclusion criteria of this cross-sectional, correlational study were: (1) being a male; (2) aged 18 and older; and (3) able to read, write, and speak the Arabic language. Online questionnaires were used to assess participants’ sociodemographic information, adherence to the MD, physical activity, and insomnia. Results demonstrated that there was a high prevalence of insomnia (53.9%) among the study’s participants ( N = 529). Moreover, in the unadjusted model, the study revealed that being unemployed (OR = 1.90,  p = 0.018), categorized as dehydrated ( OR = 1.20,  p = 0.020), overweight ( OR = 1.30,  p = 0.035), sleeping less than 6 hours/day ( OR = 2.10,  p < 0.001), and having high adherence to the MD ( OR = 1.60,  p = 0.010) were predictors of insomnia. Meanwhile, the adjusted multivariate logistic regression model indicated that being married ( OR = 1.20,  p = 0.020) played a significant protective role against developing insomnia among Arab men. While high adherence to MD ( OR = 1.642,  p = 0.028) and sleeping less than 6 hours/day ( OR = 2.760,  p < 0.001) were relative risk factors for experiencing insomnia. The high prevalence of insomnia in this population and the identification of possible predictors associated with insomnia, and the unexpected relationship between adherence to the MD and insomnia warrant further in-depth investigations that may help promote the understanding of the factors associated with insomnia and facilitate the development of interventions to target it.