The association of self-reported sleep quality and obesity in Kuwait using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI)

Obesity is an epidemic problem facing Kuwait and other neighboring countries within the region. Lifestyle and social structure in this region differ in comparison to the western world. The hot chalinging climate favor night time activities while working hours still force a stringent early attendence. This study is specifically conducted for Kuwaits population to investigate the link between Sleep Quality (SQ) and obesity. A cross-sectional study was conducted for a sample of 1002 participants. Structured questionnaires were used in the study as a tool of research. The participants were asked about their sleep habits, sleep problems, medications, job nature and demographics. All participants consented prior to conducting the survey. In order to measure sleep quality (SQ), the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PQSI) was used. Statistical analysis was conducted between variables and the data were compared using either two-tailed t-test or one-way ANOVA followed by Tukeys multiple comparison test. Pearsons correlation coefficient r was used to assess linear dependence. 59.4% of Kuwait population reported a PSQI score higher than 5, with 57.3% of the participants reporting less than 6 hours of sleep per day. The presented data shows that both sleep quality and sleep duration are considered inadequate in comparison to international sleep quality standards. None the less, we also found strong a significant association between sleep quality and its component and obesity, while other factors such as age and gender were found insignificant. These finding suggest that sleep deprivation and disturbance could be an indirect inducing factor of obesity in Kuwait. The researchers are of the view that there is a need for more study in the area of obesity and SQ in order to handle the obesity epidemic in the country.