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Abstract Introduction Disparities are under-recognized factors for sleep health. Additionally, there are concerns about sleep health among Veterans with exposure to burn pit emissions during deployment. This study aimed to examine the association between age, sex, and race and objective sleep related problems in veterans and active duty personnel. Methods Using polysomnography reports between April 2000 and September 2022 in the Veteran Affairs electronic medical records, objective sleep problems were extracted to 4940 Veterans and active duty personnel (age 39.7±9.2 y, BMI 29.3±4.6 kg/m2, 16% female, 66% white) registered on the VA/DoD Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry. We examined the association between sociodemographic variables (age, sex, and race) and objective sleep related problems (Total Sleep Time (TST), Sleep Efficiency (SE), Minimum SAO2, and Apnea-Hypopnea Index (AHI)) in separate logistic regression models. Results Middle age Veterans (41 - 50 y) predicted greater odds of shorter TST, lower SE, (ORs:1.26-1.36, p’s 0.03), and older age Veterans (50 y) predicted greater odds of shorter TST, lower SE, lower Minimum SAO2, and higher AHI (ORs:1.29-1.71, p’s 0.01). Male sex predicted greater odds of shorter TST, lower SE, lower Minimum SAO2, and higher AHI (ORs:1.22-1.97, p’s 0.04). African American race predicted greater odds of shorter TST (OR:1.25, p=0.04). Conclusion We observed a higher prevalence of objective sleep problems and sleep-disordered breathing problems among middle age compared to young Veterans and males compared to females. We also found a higher prevalence of shorter TST in Black compared to White Veterans and active duty personnel who completed the burn pit registry. This research address the importance of sleep health disparities of objective sleep related problems among Veterans with burn pit emission exposure. Support (if any) This work is supported by the Department of Veteran Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Office of Research and Development, Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety (CIN 13-413); Michael E DeBakey VAMC Bridge Grant, and VA Airborne Hazards and Burn Pit Center of Excellence Pilot Grant (PI:Nowakowski).
Kokonda et al. (2024) studied this question.