A new prospective cohort study found that early adolescents with sleep disturbances face a significantly increased risk of developing binge-eating behaviors and binge-eating disorder.
In their study published in Eating and Weight Disorders, the researchers analyzed data from 9,428 adolescents in the U.S. and found a strong association between sleep disruption, insomnia symptoms, and increased odds of binge eating after 1 year. Using data from the nationally representative Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study, the investigators controlled for sociodemographic factors, mental health symptoms, and prior binge-eating behaviors.
They reported that adolescents with clinically significant sleep disturbances had 3.62 times higher odds (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.87–6.98) of developing binge-eating disorder (BED) and 1.59 times higher odds (95% CI =1.17–2.16) of engaging in binge-eating behaviors compared with those who had normal sleep patterns. Shorter sleep duration was also linked to binge-eating symptoms: adolescents who slept less than 7 hours per night showed 2.18 times higher odds (95% CI = 2.01–6.07) of binge eating than those who slept 9 to 11 hours.
"These findings are consistent with prior cross-sectional studies in adolescent populations that have found associations between poor sleep and binge eating," wrote Jason M. Nagata, MD, of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of California in San Francisco, with colleagues.
Indeed, previous studies have linked poor sleep to food cravings, emotional dysregulation, and neurocognitive impairments, all of which may contribute to disordered eating behaviors. Insomnia symptoms, measured using the Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children in year 2 of this study, were independently associated with binge eating, with an adjusted odds ratio of 1.12 (95% CI = 1.05–1.19) for BED and 1.06 (95% CI = 1.03–1.10) for binge-eating behaviors.
The researchers acknowledged limitations, including reliance on self and parental reports of binge eating and the potential bidirectional nature of the relationship between sleep and eating disorders. Future research should explore "potential predictors and mediators (e.g., depression, neurocognitive functioning, social media use) of poor sleep and binge eating in early adolescent populations," the investigators suggested.
Health care providers should consider screening for binge-eating symptoms in early adolescents with sleep disturbances, they concluded.
No conflicts of interest were disclosed in the study.