Poorer mental health (β=-0.43, p<0.001), adverse sleep environment (β=0.13, p<0.001), residential density, and noise independently predicted higher sleep-related impairment in Black adults.
Cross-Sectional (n=480)
Yes
Sleep-related impairment in Black adults is strongly associated with poorer mental health and adverse neighborhood conditions, including residential density, sleep environment disruption, and noise.
Abstract Introduction Daytime sleep-related impairment (SRI) may represent a pathway through which psychosocial and neighborhood conditions influence cardiometabolic risk. Black adults experience disproportionately greater exposure than non-White adults, likely due to unique structural stressors. However, the factors associated with daytime impairment and its relevance to cardiometabolic health remain unclear. This study aimed to identify the psychosocial and environmental correlates of SRI in a large community sample of Black adults. Methods We analyzed cross-sectional data from 480 Black adults (67% female; mean age 42.0 ± 12.7 years) residing in Miami and New York City enrolled in the NIH-funded ‘ESSENTIAL’ study. SRI was assessed with the PROMIS® SRI scale. Psychosocial variables included social support, everyday discrimination, perceived stressors, depression/anxiety history, and the SF-12 Mental Component Summary (MCS-12). Environmental determinants included Assessment of Sleep Environment (ASE), Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale–Abbreviated (NEWS-A) indices, and an address-linked to neighborhood noise score. We used linear regression models to identify correlates of SRI. Mediation analyses estimated the indirect effects of determinants (MCS-12, ASE, NEWS-A residential density, NEWS-A crime, noise, NEWS-A aesthetics), adjusting for sociodemographic covariates (age, sex, education, employment, marital status, religion, household income) and study site. Results In unadjusted models, greater social support was associated with lower SRI (β =−0.9 to −0.7, p 0.01–0.001), whereas higher everyday discrimination was associated with greater impairment (β = 0.16, p 0.001). A history of depression or anxiety was associated with worse impairment (β = 5.4, p 0.001). Lower MCS-12 scores (β =−0.46 p 0.001) were associated with greater SRI scores. Greater perceived stressors were associated with greater impairment (β = 1.42 p 0.001). In the fully adjusted model, MCS-12 (β = –0.43, p 0.001), ASE (β = 0.13, p 0.001), residential density (β = 0.009, p 0.001), and neighborhood noise (β = 0.20, p 0.05) independently predicted higher SRI. Neighborhood crime and aesthetics were not significant (p ≥ 0.05). Conclusion Findings showed SRI was strongly associated with poorer mental health and adverse neighborhood conditions particularly residential density, sleep environment disruption, and noise. Additional analyses are needed to confirm how these findings are generalizable across different US populations. Support (if any) NIH R01HL142066
Ansu et al. (2026) conducted a cross-sectional in Sleep-Related Impairment (n=480). Poorer mental health (β=-0.43, p<0.001), adverse sleep environment (β=0.13, p<0.001), residential density, and noise independently predicted higher sleep-related impairment in Black adults.