ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Nutr.
Sec. Nutrition and Microbes
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnut.2025.1611714
Modified Life's Essential 8 mediate the correlation between dietary index for gut microbiota and sleep disorders
Provisionally accepted
- 1The Second Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University, Quanzhou, China
- 2Department of General and Visceral Surgery, Helios Dr. Horst Schmidt Clinics in Wiesbaden, Wiesbaden, Germany
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
The research sought to examine the correlation between the Dietary Index for Gut Microbiota (DI-GM) and sleep disorders. The specific relationship between DI-GM and sleep pathophysiology requires further elucidation. Methods: Those data from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) across six cycles over the years 2007 to 2018. We applied logistic regression analyses with multivariable adjustments with sample weighting to assess the independent associations of DI-GM, its beneficial and unfavorable subcomponents, with sleep disorders prevalence, reporting effect estimates as adjusted odds ratios (ORs). We used restricted cubic spline (RCS) models to evaluate relationships between dose and response, and subgroup analyses to explore effect modifications. We used mediation analysis to assess the intermediary role of mLE8 (Modified Life's Essential 8) and its all components. Results: After full adjustment, higher DI-GM and DI-GM beneficial scores were associated with a reduction in sleep disorders (OR: 0.92, 95% CI: 0.86-0.97; OR: 0.90, 95% CI: 0.85-0.96, respectively). Individuals whose DI-GM was 5 or above had a 34% decreased chance of sleep disorders compared to those with scores of 3 or less (OR: 0.66, 95% CI: 0.52-0.85), while DI-GM beneficial ≥6 reduced the risk by 35% compared to those with scores ≤1 (OR: 0.65, 95% CI: 0.49-0.85). RCS showed a nonlinear negative trend for DI-GM (P < 0.001; nonlinear P = 0.046) and a nonlinear association for DI-GM beneficial (P < 0.001; nonlinear P = 0.023) with sleep disorders. Subgroup analyses confirmed the robustness of these associations among males, current smokers, individuals consuming ≥12 alcoholic drinks/year, and those without hypertension, diabetes, or depression ( P < 0.05). After full adjustment for covariates, mLE8 exhibited a significant mediating role in the associations of both DI-GM (14.46% mediated effect, P < 0.001) and DI-GM Beneficial (12.99% mediated effect, P < 0.001) with sleep disorders. With all components of mLE8, only the nicotine exposure mediated 3.44% of the association between DI-GM and sleep disorders. Conclusion: Elevated DI-GM and DI-GM beneficial scores are associated with reduced incidence of sleep disorders. mLE8 mediates the associations of both DI-GM and DI-GM Beneficial with sleep disorders.
Keywords: Dietary Index for Gut Microbiota, Sleep Disorders, Gut Microbiota, LE8, NHANES
Received: 14 Apr 2025; Accepted: 09 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Fang, Wang, Yu, Ye, Du and Ferrarib. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Zhenhua Wang, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University, Quanzhou, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.