NEW research highlights a critical yet often overlooked connection: poor sleep quality significantly increases the risk of malnutrition among adolescents with cystic fibrosis (CF). The findings, drawn from a study involving 55 adolescents aged 10 to 18 years, underscore the importance of addressing sleep disturbances in clinical care to improve overall health outcomes.
According to the study, 50.9% of the participants reported poor sleep quality, assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Notably, 29.1% were classified as high-risk for malnutrition based on disease-specific criteria. A strong association was found between poor sleep quality and increased malnutrition risk (p < 0.05), even when controlling for other factors like dietary energy intake and BMI percentiles. The study also revealed that BMI is a key predictor of malnutrition risk. Of the participants, 27.3% had a BMI below the 10th percentile, putting them in the high-risk category. However, energy intake, often emphasized in dietary management for CF, did not significantly predict malnutrition risk in this cohort. These findings suggest that sleep quality should be integrated into the routine assessment of adolescents with CF. Sleep disturbances may exacerbate nutritional challenges, creating a cycle that complicates health outcomes, the authors note. This underscores the need for comprehensive management strategies that address both sleep health and nutritional status. The study suggests that there is a need to evaluate sleep quality as part of standard care for patients with CF to improve malnutrition risk assessments and lead to interventions that enhance long-term health outcomes. Reference: Bodur M et al. The overlooked factor: Sleep quality in assessing malnutrition risk and nutritional status in adolescents with cystic fibrosis. Sleep Med. 2025;127:120-6. Anaya Malik | AMJ
