0118 Sleep Quality Among Sexually Abused and Non-abused Females in the Female Growth and Development Study

Abstract Introduction Lower sleep quality in adulthood can be a manifestation of trauma experienced during earlier stages of development. Sleep problems are also common among adults with chronic health conditions, such as diabetes and heart disease. However, there is scarcity of evidence on potential moderating effect of chronic health conditions in the association between post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and poor sleep in adulthood. We examined the relationship between PTSD symptoms (PTSS), biomarkers of diabetes type 2, and sleep health. Methods Participants are comprised of sexually abused (as children) and non-abused females from the Female Growth and Development Study (FGDS), a longitudinal study following participants across seven waves from childhood to adulthood (1987-2019). From Comprehensive Trauma Interviews at waves 4-6, we identified trajectories of PTSD using growth mixture modeling. At wave 7, actigraphy was conducted and blood samples were used to measure Hemoglobin A1C. We focused on participants with ≥ 3 valid days of actigraphy data (n = 100). Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) examined the relationship between PTSS, Hemoglobin A1C (normal, prediabetes, diabetes) and sleep duration, efficiency, and wake time after sleep onset (WASO), controlling for sexual abuse status, age and race. Results Over half of the participants (51%) ever had PTSS and 16% had HbA1C at prediabetes or diabetes stages. Although ANCOVA results did not detect significant interaction effects of PTSS and diabetes on sleep, we found heterogeneity in the distributions of the sleep measures. For instance, sleep efficiency was lower among participants who had co-occurrence of PTSS and prediabetes /diabetes (M = 88.0 %, SD = 5.1) relative to those who had prediabetes /diabetes but no PTSS (M = 91.1 %, SD = 2.0). Compared with participants with prediabetes /diabetes but no PTSS (M = 39.9 min/night, SD = 12.8), those with PTSS and prediabetes had greater mean WASO (M = 50.0 min/night, SD = 21.6). Conclusion Participants who had both PTSS and prediabetes/diabetes experienced elevated sleep problems. Future research should investigate how chronic health conditions may affect sleep among individuals with PTSS related to childhood maltreatment. Support (if any) T32HD101390, R01AG059682, R01HD072468, R01AG04879