Association between vitamin C in serum and trouble sleeping based on NHANES 2017–2018

Abstract Vitamin C is an important micronutrient for human. Association between vitamin C and trouble sleeping was less studied. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the possible link between vitamin C in serum and trouble sleeping. The cross-sectional data was derived from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES, 2017–2018). Trouble sleeping was measured by asking participants: “Have you ever told doctor had trouble sleeping”. Responses to this question was “yes” or “no”. vitamin C in serum was obtained by measuring the serum samples. We used multivariable binary logistic regressions to examine the possible link between vitamin C in serum and trouble sleeping, and then a subgroup analysis was performed. Moreover, the non-linear relationship between vitamin C in serum and trouble sleeping was further detected using a restricted cubic spline (RCS) model. A total of 3227 participants were included in the study. After adjusting all potential confounders, the results of multivariable logistic regression showed the significant negative association between vitamin C in serum and trouble sleeping( OR = 0.816; 95% CI :0.669 ~ 0.995). The significant inverse association was also found in female( OR = 0.713; 95% CI :0.546 ~ 0.931), age ≤ 65 years( OR = 0.773; 95% CI :0.600 ~ 0.996), and in participants with high cholesterol level( OR = 0.738; 95% CI :0.548 ~ 0.994). In addition, the RCS model demonstrated the significant non-linear relationship between vitamin C in serum and trouble sleeping ( P value of nonlinear = 0.010). Our study demonstrates the significant negative association between vitamin C in serum and trouble sleeping.