Association between Chewing Problems and Sleep among Japanese Adults

An association between physical illness and sleep has been suggested. Disordered chewing might be a physical factor that is associated with sleep issues. This cross-sectional study aimed to determine whether chewing problems are associated with sleep in Japanese adults. Sleep and chewing issues were evaluated in 6,025 community residents using a self-reported questionnaire. The prevalence of poor sleep quality and sleeping for <6 h/day (short duration) were 15.6% and 29.4%, respectively. Multivariate logistic regression analyses showed that prevalence of poor sleep quality was significantly associated with self-reported medical history (odds ratio (OR), 1.30; p<0.001), self-reported symptoms (OR, 4.59; p<0.001), chewing problems (OR, 1.65; p<0.001), and poor glycemic control (OR, 1.43; p=0.035). The prevalence of short sleep duration was also significantly associated with female sex (OR, 1.23; p=0.001), self-reported symptoms (OR, 1.60; p<0.001), chewing problems (OR, 1.30; p=0.001), and being overweight (OR, 1.41; p<0.001). In conclusion, chewing problems were associated with poor sleep quality and short sleep duration among Japanese adults.