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Objectives Since waste from swine industrial livestock operations (ILOs) produces air pollutants associated with negative health outcomes among nearby residents, we assessed the impact of odorant emissions on sleep duration and awakenings. Design A repeated-measures design. Setting Sixteen residential communities in eastern North Carolina hosting swine ILOs. Participants Eighty participants residing in eastern North Carolina from 2003 to 2005. Intervention (if any) Not applicable. Measurements Study participants completed twice-daily diaries in which they rated the strength of hog odors and indicated whether they were asleep or awake per hour for 2 weeks. Simultaneously, a monitoring trailer placed in a central location in each community measured the atmospheric concentration of hydrogen sulfide (H2S). Subject-conditional fixed-effects regression models were used to estimate associations between 2 markers of swine ILO pollutant exposures (H2S and swine odor) and 2 self-reported sleep outcomes (nightly sleep duration and awakening from sleep). Results Among 80 participants, nightly (across a 12-hour period) swine odor was associated with lower nightly sleep duration (mean difference = −14.3 minutes, 95% confidence interval −25.0 to −3.3 minutes) compared to odor-free nights and detection of nightly hydrogen sulfide was associated with an increased risk of awakening (hazard ratio = 1.23, 95% confidence interval 0.98 to 1.55) compared to nights with no detection of hydrogen sulfide. Conclusions These results suggest that environmental odorants are important considerations for sleep health and highlight the importance of sleep as a potential mediator between environmental air pollution and health outcomes impacted by poor sleep.

Objectives To investigate Black-White disparities in suboptimal sleep and cardiometabolic health by government-assisted rental housing status. Design National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) pooled cross-sectional data (2004–2016). Setting United States. Participants Black and White adult participants (n = 80,880). Measurements Poisson regression with robust variance was used to estimate prevalence ratios (PRs) and 95% confidence intervals for self-reported unrecommended ( 9 hours) sleep duration (each separately vs recommended (≤7–9 hours)) and sleep difficulties (eg, trouble falling/staying asleep ≥3 days/week) (yes vs no) among Blacks compared to Whites within rental housing categories (government-assisted vs unassisted), separately, for men and women. Within sex/housing categories, we applied the same approach to compare cardiometabolic health outcomes (ie, overweight/obesity, hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, stroke) between Blacks with worse sleep and Whites with recommended sleep. Models were adjusted for age and other potential confounders. Results Participants' mean age was 42 ± 18 years, 57% were female, and 30% Black. Blacks in unassisted housing had a higher prevalence of unrecommended and short sleep (PR = 1.22 [1.15–1.30] -men, PR = 1.14 [1.08–1.21] -women) compared to their White counterparts (phousing⁎race = 0.001 -men, phousing⁎race = 0.008 -women), but no Black-White differences (PR = 0.88 [0.73–1.07] -men, PR = 0.98 [0.89–1.09] -women) were observed among government-assisted renters. Generally, Blacks were less likely to report sleep difficulties than Whites. Cardiometabolic health disparities between Blacks with worse sleep and Whites with recommended sleep were generally smaller among government-assisted renters, but relationships varied by sex. Conclusions There were no racial disparities in short sleep duration, and cardiometabolic health disparities were generally attenuated when Blacks and Whites resided in government-assisted rental housing.

Introduction Carbamate and organophosphate pesticides inhibit acetylcholinesterase, and poisoning leads to respiratory depression. Thus, involvement in sleep apnea is plausible, but no data exist at lower levels of exposure. Other pesticides could impact sleep apnea by different mechanisms but have not been studied. Our study examines the associations between pesticide exposure and sleep apnea among pesticide applicators from a US farming population. Participants and methods We analyzed data from 1569 male pesticide applicators, mostly farmers, from an asthma case-control study nested within the prospective Agricultural Health Study. On questionnaires, participants reported use of specific pesticides and physician diagnosis plus prescribed treatments for sleep apnea. We used multivariable logistic regression to estimate associations between ever use of 63 pesticides and sleep apnea (234 cases, 1335 noncases). Results The most notable association was for carbofuran, a carbamate (100 exposed cases, odds ratio 1.83, 95% confidence interval 1.34-2.51, P =.0002). Carbofuran use began before reported onset of sleep apnea in all cases. Discussion This study adds to the known adverse health outcomes of exposure to carbofuran, a pesticide canceled in the United States in 2009 for most agricultural purposes but persists in the environment and remains in use in some other countries. Conclusions We conducted the first epidemiological study investigating the association of pesticide exposure and sleep apnea. Our results in a male agricultural population suggests that exposure to carbofuran is positively associated with sleep apnea.

Racial/ethnic minorities experience a disproportionate risk of both suboptimal sleep and obesity, and the relationship between sleep and obesity may differ by race/ethnicity for modifiable and non-modifiable reasons. Since many non-White populations have historically and continue to largely live in disadvantaged, obesogenic physical and social environments, these greater inopportune exposures likely adversely affect sleep, resulting in physiological dysregulation. Physiological dysregulation may, in turn, lead to increased obesity risk and subsequent health consequences, which is likely more influential than potential genetic differences in race - a social construct. The purpose of this article is to describe potential environmental, genetic, and epigenetic determinants of racial/ethnic differences in the sleep-obesity relationship and to review current epidemiological findings regarding either racial/ethnic minority specific estimates of the association or disparities in the relationship. Using the socioecological framework as a conceptual model, I describe sleep and obesity as socially patterned and embedded in modifiable physical and social contexts with common causes that are influenced by upstream social conditions. I also provide examples of sleep and obesity-related studies that correspond with either the downstream, intermediate, and upstream factors that likely contribute to commonly-observed racial/ethnic disparities in the sleep-obesity relationship. The review concludes with broad recommendations for 1) advancing research methodology for epidemiological studies of disparities in the link between sleep and obesity, 2) future research topics, as well as 3) several broad policies and structures needed to address racial/ethnic disparities in sleep health and obesity.

Background Both parent–child relationship quality (PCRQ) and sleep are important for health and development, but few studies have examined links between PCRQ and adolescent sleep and potential interactions by race/ethnicity or sex. Methods We used cross-sectional data from 6,019 participants (mean = 15.9 years; 50% male; 66% non-Hispanic White, 16% non-Hispanic Black, 5% Hispanic all races) from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, a nationally representative sample of U.S. adolescents. Our exposure was current adolescent-rated PCRQ score. Outcomes were adolescents’ reports of chronic insufficient sleep, sleep duration (mins), and frequency of insomnia symptoms (i.e., trouble falling or staying asleep “almost every day”/“every day” versus “never”/“just a few times”/“about once a week”). Results Adjusting for demographic characteristics, each 1-point increase in PCRQ score was associated with lower odds of insomnia symptoms (odds ratio [OR] = 0.92, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.90, 0.94), chronic insufficient sleep (OR = 0.93, 95% CI: 0.91, 0.95), and longer sleep duration (B = 2.56, 95% CI: 1.90, 3.22). After adjustment for depressive symptoms, the association with insomnia symptoms was no longer statistically significant. Race/ethnicity moderated the association between PCRQ and chronic insufficient sleep such that the magnitude of the association was greater in Hispanics vs. Whites and Blacks. There were no interactions of PCRQ with sex. Conclusions Among adolescents, better PCRQ was associated with better sleep, and this association varied by race/ethnicity for perceived chronic insufficient sleep. Longitudinal studies with objective and subjective sleep measures are needed to further understand these associations.

Objectives Ethnoracial disparities in sleep health across the lifecourse, may underlie other disparities in health and well-being among adults in the United States (U.S.). We evaluated if socioenvironmental stressors, which likely differ by the race/ethnicity of college students, may contribute to sleep disparities in this demographic group. Design/Measurements National Health Interview Survey data pooled from 2004 to 2017 were used to test the hypothesis that ethnoracial disparities in sleep exist among college students residing in dormitories in the U.S. Setting Nationally representative survey data. Participants A total of 2,119 college students residing in dormitories (71% White, 16% Black/African-American, 7% Hispanic/Latino, and 6% Asian) participated in the study. Results The prevalence of short sleep duration was higher among Black/African-Americans than among White students, but not among Hispanics/Latinos and Asians, after adjusting for age, gender, and region of residence. In fully adjusted models, Black/African-Americans, although no longer statistically significant after adjustments, were more likely to report short sleep duration compared with White students (adjusted prevalence ratio; [aPR] = 1.30, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.98-1.71). The prevalence of separate insomnia symptoms did not differ by ethnoracial group in adjusted models. Only Asian students had a higher prevalence (aPR = 1.40, 95% CI: 1.12-1.75) of nonrestorative sleep than White students. Conclusion Black/African-American but not Hispanic/Latino or Asian college students were more likely to report short sleep duration than Whites. Insomnia symptoms did not differ between groups, while Asians experienced more nonrestorative sleep. Future studies should investigate the socioenvironmental causes of disparities using longitudinal designs, larger sample sizes, better socioeconomic status (SES) indicators, and objective sleep measures.