The association between food deserts and short sleep duration among young adults in the United States: variation by race and ethnicity

Abstract

BackgroundBoth food deserts and short sleep duration are serious public health problems that affect the lives of millions of Americans. Although recent research has begun to link community characteristics to sleep problems, the relationship between living in a food desert and sleep behavior has gone largely unexplored. MethodsUsing data from the National Longitudinal Study from Adolescent to Adult Health and data on food retailers from the Modified Retail Food Environment Index, this study applies multivariable logistic regression to assess the association between living in a food desert and short sleep duration. Models were stratified by race and ethnicity to examine potential moderating effects. Supplemental analyses are conducted where the comparison category is restricted to respondents who live in census tracts with low access to healthy food retailers but do not live in food deserts. ResultsIn adjusted logistic regression models, living in a food desert is not associated with short sleep duration. When the sample is stratified, living in a food desert has a positive and significant association with short sleep duration among Hispanic respondents in both the main analysis (odds ratio = 1.7; 95% confidence interval = 1.0-2.7) and supplemental models (odds ratio = 1.9; 95% confidence interval = 1.2-3.2). ConclusionsLiving in a food desert is not associated with short sleep duration among young adults. Study results indicate that living in a food desert is associated with increased odds for short sleep duration among Hispanics. Potential explanations for this finding are discussed in the context of extant research.