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Racial/Ethnic Disparities in the Relationship Between Traumatic Childhood Experiences and Suboptimal Sleep Dimensions Among Adult Women: Findings from the Sister Study

  • Special Issue: Sleep Science
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Abstract

Background

Traumatic childhood experiences (TCEs) are associated with poor adulthood sleep, but racial/ethnic disparities have not been well-studied. We investigated the TCE-adulthood sleep relationship among non-Hispanic (NH)-White, NH-Black, and Hispanic/Latina women.

Method

Women enrolled in the Sister Study from 2003 to 2009 reported the following TCEs in a follow-up interview (2008–2012): natural disasters; major accidents; household dysfunction; and sexual, physical, and psychological/emotional abuse. Sleep characteristics included short sleep duration (< 7 h vs. 7–9 h), long sleep onset latency (SOL) (> 30 vs. ≤ 30 min), frequent night awakenings (≥ 3 times/night ≥ 3 times/week [yes vs. no]), and frequent napping (≥ 3 vs. < 3 times/week). Using log-binomial regression to estimate prevalence ratios (PRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for sleep characteristics among women with vs. without TCEs, we investigated racial/ethnic-specific associations and race/ethnicity as a moderator.

Results

Among 40,082 participants (mean age = 55 ± 8.8 years), 55% reported ≥ 1 TCE (NH-White, 54%; NH-Black, 62%; Hispanic/Latina, 57%). NH-White, NH-Black, and Hispanic/Latina women reporting any TCE had a higher prevalence of short sleep compared with their within-race/ethnicity counterparts without TCEs. Associations were strongest among NH-Whites. Compared to NH-Whites with no TCEs, racial/ethnic minorities who reported any TCEs had a higher prevalence of short sleep (PRBlacks = 2.13 [95% CI 2.02–2.24], PRHispanics/Latinas = 1.47 [1.35–1.60]) and long SOL. When comparing racial/ethnic minorities with TCEs to NH-Whites with TCEs, PRs for short sleep (PRBlacks = 1.98 [1.88–2.08] and PRHispanics/Latinas = 1.36 [1.25–1.48]) and long SOL were weaker.

Conclusion

TCEs were positively associated with poor sleep characteristics among women, and TCEs appear to contribute to short sleep duration and long SOL disparities.

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Funding

This work was financially supported by the Intramural Program at the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences [Z1A ES103325-01 (C.L.J.) and Z01 ES044005 (D.P.S.)] and by the National Institute of Mental Health’s Psychiatric Epidemiology Training Program [5T32MH014592-39 (D.R.W.), PI: Zandi, Peter].

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Author notes

  1. Symielle A. Gaston and Ketrell L. McWhorter contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Epidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, 111 TW Alexander Drive, Research Triangle Park, Durham, NC, 27709, USA

    Symielle A. Gaston, Ketrell L. McWhorter, Christine G. Parks, Dale P. Sandler & Chandra L. Jackson

  2. Social & Scientific Systems, Inc., Durham, NC, USA

    Aimee A. D’Aloisio

  3. Department of Mental Health, The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Darlynn M. Rojo-Wissar

  4. Intramural Program, National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, MD, USA

    Chandra L. Jackson

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Contributions

Authors: Symielle A. Gaston, Ketrell L. McWhorter, Christine G. Parks, Aimee A. D’Aloisio, Darlynn M. Rojo-Wissar, Dale P. Sandler, Chandra L. Jackson.

Study concept: CL Jackson.

Study design: CL Jackson, KL McWhorter, SA Gaston.

Acquisition of data: DP Sandler.

Statistical analysis: KL McWhorter, SA Gaston.

Interpretation of data: SA Gaston, KL McWhorter, CG Parks, AA D’Aloisio, DM Rojo-Wissar, DP Sandler, CL Jackson.

Drafting of the manuscript: SA Gaston, KL McWhorter, CL Jackson.

Critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content: SA Gaston, KL McWhorter, CG Parks, AA D’Aloisio, DM Rojo-Wissar, DP Sandler, CL Jackson.

Administrative, technical, and material support: CL Jackson.

Obtaining funding: DP Sandler, CL Jackson.

Study supervision: CL Jackson.

Final approval: SA Gaston, KL McWhorter, CG Parks, AA D’Aloisio, DM Rojo-Wissar, DP Sandler, CL Jackson.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Chandra L. Jackson.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Gaston, S.A., McWhorter, K.L., Parks, C.G. et al. Racial/Ethnic Disparities in the Relationship Between Traumatic Childhood Experiences and Suboptimal Sleep Dimensions Among Adult Women: Findings from the Sister Study. Int.J. Behav. Med. 28, 116–129 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12529-020-09905-5

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