First-generation immigrant mothers and their infants experienced poorer sleep outcomes, with infants sleeping 27 minutes less (p=0.007) and waking more frequently than non-immigrant infants.
Cross-Sectional (n=1,274)
Does immigrant generation status affect infant sleep and maternal sleep quality in mother-infant dyads?
First-generation immigrant mothers and their infants experience poorer sleep quality and shorter sleep duration compared to non-immigrant families, suggesting intergenerational transmission of sleep vulnerability.
Abstract Introduction Prior research has documented sleep health disparities across immigrant groups. However, less is known about how these differences occur in mother-infant dyads. This study examined whether immigrant generational status is associated with infants’ objectively measured sleep and mothers’ self-report sleep, providing an intergenerational view of sleep health within immigrant families. Methods Participants were 1, 274 mothers of infants aged 0–24 (10. 07±6. 8) months residing in the US. First-generation mothers were not born in the US (n=134), second-generation were born in the US with at least one parent born outside the US (n=183). Non-immigrant mothers (n=957) were born in the US to US-born parents. 72% were White, 10% multiracial, 6% Asian, 7% Hispanic/Latino and 3% Black, and 55% earning ≥150, 000/year. Infant sleep was measured using Nanit autovideosomnography, including sleep duration, night wakings, and parent nighttime crib visits. Parental sleep was assessed using the PSQI. Generational differences in infant sleep were examined with linear regressions, while in parental sleep were examined using ANCOVAs. Child age was a covariate. Results Second-generation mothers reported poorer overall PSQI score compared to non-immigrant mothers (β=-1. 124, SE=0. 323, p=0. 002), while first-generation mothers did not differ from either group. Second-generation mothers reported poorer subjective sleep quality (β=-0. 190, SE=0. 067, p=0. 014) than non-immigrant mothers. First-generation mothers showed longer sleep latency than non-immigrant (β=0. 293, SE=0. 102, p=0. 011) and second-generation mothers (β=-0. 465, SE=0. 129, p 0. 001). Both first (β=-0. 326, SE=0. 084, p 0. 001) and second-generation mothers (β=-0. 229, SE=0. 077, p=0. 008) slept less than non-immigrant mothers. Infants of first-generation mothers slept 27 minutes less (p=0. 007), woke 0. 52 more times per night (p=0. 034), and experienced 1. 5 more parental nighttime visits (p 0. 001) than infants of non-immigrant mothers. Infants of second-generation mothers did not differ from non-immigrant families. Conclusion Immigrant mothers showed poorer sleep than non-immigrant mothers. Similarly, babies born to first-generation mothers had shorter and more fragmented sleep than those of non-immigrant mothers, while infants of second-generation mothers did not differ from non-immigrant infants. Given sleep’s critical role in lifelong health, the parallel sleep disadvantages in immigrant mothers and their children point to a potential intergenerational transmission of vulnerability within immigrant communities. Support (if any)
Thakur et al. (Fri,) conducted a cross-sectional in Sleep health disparities (n=1,274). Immigrant generational status vs. Non-immigrant mothers was evaluated on Infant sleep (duration, night wakings, crib visits) and maternal sleep quality (PSQI). First-generation immigrant mothers and their infants experienced poorer sleep outcomes, with infants sleeping 27 minutes less (p=0.007) and waking more frequently than non-immigrant infants.