Racial/ethnic disparities in short sleep duration by occupation: The contribution of immigrant status

Sleep duration, associated with increased morbidity/mortality, has been shown to vary by race and occupation. Few studies have examined the additional influence of immigrant status. Using a nationally-representative sample of 175,244 US adults from the National Health Interview Survey from 2004 to 2011, we estimated prevalence ratios (PRs) for short sleep duration (<7 h/per day) among US- and non-US born Blacks and Latinos by occupation compared to their White counterparts using adjusted Poisson regression models with robust variance. Non-US born participants' mean age was 46 years, 55% were men, 58% were Latino, and 65% lived in the US ≥ 15 years. Short sleep prevalence was highest among US- and non-US born Blacks in all occupations, and the prevalence generally increased with increasing professional/management roles in Blacks and Latinos while it decreased among Whites. Adjusted short sleep was more prevalent in US-born Blacks compared to Whites in professional/management (PR = 1.52 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.42–1.63]), support services (PR = 1.31 [95% CI: 1.26–1.37]), and laborers (PR = 1.11 [95% CI: 1.06–1.16]). The Black–White comparison was even higher for non-US born Black laborers (PR = 1.50 [95% CI: 1.24–1.80]). Similar for non-US born Latinos, Latinos born in the US had a higher short sleep prevalence in professional/management (PR = 1.14 [95% CI: 1.04–1.24]) and support services (PR = 1.06 [95% CI: 1.01–1.11]), but a lower prevalence among laborers (PR = 0.77 [95% CI: 0.74–0.81]) compared to Whites. Short sleep varied within and between immigrant status for some ethnicities in particular occupations, further illuminating the need for tailored interventions to address sleep disparities among US workers.