Abstract Introduction On average, minoritized racial and ethnic groups, including non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic adults, sleep more poorly than non-Hispanic White adults (hereafter, Black and White). Although racial and ethnic sleep disparities have been well-documented, few studies have investigated factors that may contribute to sleep disparities, such as the neighborhood environment. We hypothesized that Black and Hispanic adults demonstrate associations between more positive neighborhood conditions and higher sleep quality. Methods In the community-based Offspring Study, we assessed cross-sectional associations between the neighborhood environment and self-reported sleep quality in Black, Hispanic, and White adults (n=993; 27-91 years; M=56 , SD=11). Participants self-reported positive (cohesion, safety) and negative (problems, disorder) aspects of their neighborhood experiences on 29 questionnaire items, which were summed on subscales for each aspect of the neighborhood. We assessed sleep quality with the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Both sleep quality and neighborhood experiences were treated as continuous variables. We performed multivariable regression analyses stratified by racial and ethnic group and adjusted for age, education, and gender identity. Results More positive neighborhood experiences (higher neighborhood cohesion and safety; lower disorder and problems) were associated with higher sleep quality in Black, Hispanic, and White adults in unadjusted models. In adjusted models, only neighborhood cohesion was associated higher sleep quality in each racial and ethnic group (Black: 0.17, [0.03, 0.31]; Hispanic: 0.09, [0.03, 0.16]; White: B=0.129, [0.004, 0.25]). In White adults, higher neighborhood problems were associated with poorer sleep quality (B=-0.17, [-0.26, -0.07]). In Black and Hispanic adults, safer neighborhoods (Black: B=0.82, [0.24, 1.41]; Hispanic: B=0.65, [0.37, 0.93]) and lower neighborhood disorder (Black: B=0.14, 0.01, 0.27]; Hispanic: B=0.09, [0.02, 0.15]) were associated with higher sleep quality. Conclusion Neighborhood environment may be a driver of individual differences in sleep quality across the adult lifespan. Improving neighborhood conditions may be one method to improve sleep quality and reduce racial and ethnic sleep disparities. Support (if any) This research is supported by the Columbia Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Alzheimer's Disease Disparities (P30AG059303-01), NIH (R01AG054070), and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine Sleep Research Program for Advancing Careers travel scholarship.
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