Association of Social Jetlag with the Dietary Quality Among Korean Workers: Findings from a Nationwide Survey

<b>Background/Objectives:</b> Social jetlag, which refers to the misalignment between biological rhythms and social schedule, is linked to an increased risk of metabolic diseases. This cross-sectional study investigated the relationship between social jetlag and workers' dietary quality. <b>Methods</b>: This secondary data analysis included a sample of workers from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (<i>n</i> = 11,430). Social jetlag was determined by calculating the difference in the sleep midpoint between free days and workdays, based on sleep onset and offset times. The Korean Health Eating Index (KHEI) was calculated based on 24-h recalls, with higher scores indicating superior dietary qualities (range: 0-100). Poor dietary quality was defined as a KHEI below the lowest quartile (<51.6). Linear or logistic regressions were utilized to estimate <i>β</i> or odds ratio (OR), respectively. <b>Results:</b> Among study participants, 12.1% of workers experienced ≥120 min of social jetlag. ≥120 min of social jetlag was associated with a reduced KHEI score compared with 0-59 min (<i>β</i>: -1.23, 95% confidence interval [CI]: -2.16, -0.30). Those with ≥120 min of social jetlag were more likely to have poor dietary quality than those with 0-59 min (OR: 1.27, 95% CI: 1.08, 1.50). <b>Conclusions</b>: Workers experiencing ≥120 min of social jetlag had poorer dietary quality compared with workers with 0-59 min of social jetlag. Therefore, this study suggests that policy efforts are needed to reduce social jetlag among workers in Korea.