Association of sleep duration and insulin resistance in Taiwanese vegetarians

Background Short sleep duration has been reported to associate with increased insulin resistance. However, no studies have investigated whether such association exists in vegetarians. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between sleep duration and insulin resistance in Taiwanese vegetarians. Methods A total of 1290 individuals were recruited from a regional hospital in south Taiwan during their regular routine physical examination. Only individuals who described themselves as Buddhist vegetarians were included in the study. Demographic information and clinical characteristics were collected and multiple logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the association between sleep duration and insulin resistance. Results A total of 433 vegetarians were included in the study. Results from univariate logistic regression indicated that insulin resistance was significantly associated with male sex, greater waist circumference, higher triglyceride levels, lower high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, higher plasma creatinine levels, higher alanine transaminase levels, greater energy expenditure, and sleep duration of more than 8 hours per night. Multiple logistic regression revealed that insulin resistance was significantly and independently associated with sleep duration of more than 8 hours per night (odd ratios = 2.27, 95% confidence interval = 1.24, 4.11) after adjusting for waist circumference and levels of alanine transaminase. Conclusions Sleep duration of more than 8 hours per night is an independent risk factor associated with increased insulin resistance in vegetarians.