Early emergence of racial and ethnic differences in sleep health among toddlers living in low-income families

Monica R Ordway; Lois S Sadler; Sangchoon Jeon; Jasmyne C Pierre; Craig Canapari; Nancy S Redeker

doi:10.1016/j.sleh.2023.02.006

Early emergence of racial and ethnic differences in sleep health among toddlers living in low-income families

Sleep Health. 2023 Aug;9(4):389-397. doi: 10.1016/j.sleh.2023.02.006. Epub 2023 Jul 13.

Authors

Monica R Ordway¹, Lois S Sadler², Sangchoon Jeon³, Jasmyne C Pierre⁴, Craig Canapari⁵, Nancy S Redeker⁶

Affiliations

¹ Yale School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, New Haven, Connecticut, USA; Yale School of Nursing, West Haven, Connecticut, USA. Electronic address: Monica.ordway@yale.edu.
² Yale School of Nursing and Yale Child Study Center, West Haven, Connecticut, USA.
³ Yale School of Nursing, West Haven, Connecticut, USA.
⁴ Yale University, Department of Psychology, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
⁵ Yale School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
⁶ University of Connecticut School of Nursing, Storrs, Connecticut, USA.

PMID: 37453903
PMCID: PMC10517059 (available on 2024-08-01)
DOI: 10.1016/j.sleh.2023.02.006

Abstract

Objectives: Emerging evidence suggests racial and ethnic and socioeconomic differences in children's sleep health, yet few have examined these differences among very young children. The purpose of this study is to identify potential racial, ethnic, and sociodeomographic factors associated with multiple dimensions of sleep health in toddlers living in very low-income families.

Participants: Sample included 110 racially and ethnically diverse dyads with toddlers aged 12-15 months living in low-income families.

Methods: Actigraph data (9 days and nights), caregiver completed sleep diaries, Brief Infant Sleep Questionnaire-extended, and caregiver-reported socioeconomic characteristics were collected.

Results: Toddlers' average sleep duration (10.25 hours; SD = 0.76) was less than the age-based recommendations. There were significant race and ethnic differences in toddler's actigraph-measured bedtime (p < .001) and variability in bedtimes (p = .004). Non-LatinX White toddlers had earlier bedtimes and less variability than Black and LatinX children. These between-group differences remained statistically significant after controlling for measured socioeconomic variables (p's < 0.001). Within racial and ethnic group differences in bedtime and bedtime variability by education, employment, and marital status were identified with medium to large effect sizes.

Conclusions: Racial and ethnic between-group differences in sleep occurred as early as 12 months of age and were not explained by sociodemographic variables (eg, income-to-needs, education, housing). Further research is necessary to determine structural and contextual factors that explain the racial and ethnic differences in sleep health in early childhood. Identifying these factors may inform the development of socially and culturally tailored interventions to reduce sleep health disparities.

Keywords: Actigraph; Bedtime; Bedtime variability; Health equity; Sleep health; Toddlers.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

Child, Preschool
Humans
Income
Infant
Poverty*
Sleep*
Socioeconomic Factors
Surveys and Questionnaires

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding