Abstract
Objective Short sleep duration has been linked with a wide array of poor mental and physical health outcomes. Such risks, however, may be moderated by demographic factors such as gender and race/ethnicity. In a diverse community sample, the current study examined the relationship between gender, race/ethnicity and objectively measured sleep duration, controlling for select potential confounds. Methods Participants were 300 community adults (50% female), aged 21 to 70 years, and included 60% non-Hispanic Whites, 15% non-Hispanic Blacks, 19% Hispanic/Latino, and 6% other. As part of a larger study, participants wore an actigraphy device over two nights to assess sleep duration (averaged across both nights). Gender and race/ethnicity were used as grouping variables in a two-way analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) predicting objectively assessed total sleep time, with age, income, and employment status as covariates. Results On average, males slept 34 min less than females (P =.002). After controlling for socioeconomic factors, there was a gender by race/ethnicity interaction (P =.030). Within males, Hispanics slept 45 min less than non-Hispanic Whites (P =.002) and 57 min less than non-Hispanic others (P =.008). Males also slept significantly less than females within the non-Hispanic White (difference = −22.9; P =.016) and the Hispanic (difference = −77.1; P <.001) groups. Conclusions Extending previous research, the current study provides additional evidence for differences in objective sleep duration based on gender and race/ethnicity in daily life. These data suggest that risk associated with sleep duration is patterned in important ways across gender and race/ethnicity; such information can be used to tailor prevention efforts.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 324-327 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | Sleep Health |
Volume | 3 |
Issue number | 5 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Oct 2017 |
Keywords
- Gender
- Health disparity
- Race
- Sleep duration
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Behavioral Neuroscience