0367 Urban Stress and Sleep Health by Proximal Neighborhood Groups in Washington, DC

African Americans are disproportionately affected by environmental factors that increase the risk for negative health outcomes. Analyses from National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) data estimated 15 to 75 percent of the disparities between Black and White respondents being accounted for by residential context. Poor sleep health, particularly short sleep duration, has been linked to metabolic and cardiovascular disease. A population study indicated that sleep duration of less than 6 hours was more common among African Americans compared with other racial groups in the United States and this association was accounted for by African Americans living in high density urban environments. Threats of violence may engender feelings of vulnerability when sleeping and be an important determinant of sleep health though this relationship has not been adequately studied. The aim of this study is to determine how an individual’s sleep health relates to violent crime rates in their neighborhood of residence as well as indicators of neighborhood stress endorsed in a self-reported survey.

African- American men and women between the ages of 18-35 filled out the insomnia severity index (ISI) and city stress inventory (CSI). Sleep duration and sleep efficiency were obtained through home-based actigraphy. Participants were categorized as poor sleepers if two out of three criteria were met: sleep duration of less than six hours, ISI greater than 10, and sleep efficiency below 85%. Participants addresses were linked to one of the 51 proximal neighborhood groups (PNG) defined by the DC Department of Health and Office of Planning using MAR geocoder and QGIS mapping software. Violent death rates and other social health determinants are indicated by PNG in the DC DOH’s Health Equity Report (2019).

Sleep measures were not correlated with neighborhood violent death rates (Pearson r’s: .05 - .17; all NS). SE and TST were weakly correlated with CSI scores (both r’s = -.22, NS).

The negative findings may be related to sample size, the presence of threat and crime in all of the locations, and the importance of individual coping.

NIHLB grant R01HL136626 to Dr. Thomas A. Mellman and NCATS grant for a Clinical Translational Science Award UL1-TR001409.