Socioeconomic Status, Occupational Characteristics, and Sleep Duration in African/Caribbean Immigrants and US White Health Care Workers

Study Objectives: To advance our understanding of the interplay of socioeconomic factors, occupational exposures, and race/ethnicity as they relate to sleep duration. We hypothesize that non-Hispanic African/Caribbean immigrant employees in long-term health care have shorter sleep duration than non-Hispanic white employees, and that low education, low income, and occupational exposures including night work and job strain account for some of the African/Caribbean immigrant-white difference in sleep duration. Design: Cross-sectional Setting: Four extended care facilities in Massachusetts, United States Participants: 340 employees in extended care facilities Measurements and Results: Sleep duration was assessed with wrist actigraphy for a mean of 6.3 days. In multivariable regression modeling controlling for gender and age, African/Caribbean immigrants slept 64.4 fewer minutes (95% CI: -81.0, -47.9) per night than white participants; additional control for education and income reduced the racial gap to 50.9 minutes (-69.2, -32.5); additional control for the occupational factors of hours worked per week and working the night shift reduced the racial gap to 37.7 minutes (-57.8, -17.6). Conclusions: This study provides support for the hypothesis that socioeconomic and occupational characteristics explain some of the African/Caribbean immigrant-white difference in sleep duration in the United States, especially among health care workers.