title: Normal sleep in African-Americans and Caucasian-Americans: A meta-analysis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This meta-analysis was designed to estimate the average magnitude of ethnic differences between African-Americans and Caucasian-Americans in normal sleep and to identify moderators of these differences.
  
  
  METHODS
  Included studies had to have (1) sufficient information to estimate the difference between African-Americans and Caucasian-Americans on measures of subjective or objective sleep, (2) adult samples, and (3) samples of normal sleepers. Fourteen studies representing 1010 African-Americans and 3156 Caucasian-Americans aged 18years and older met these criteria.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Significant ethnic differences were found, with mean effect sizes ranging from -.23 to .57. African-Americans had poorer sleep continuity and duration, less slow wave sleep, and a greater proportion of stage 2 sleep. Differences in sleep continuity and duration variables were moderated by several biopsychosocial factors, whereas sleep architecture differences were not influenced by any examined moderating factor.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  African-Americans slept worse objectively and subjectively than Caucasian-Americans. Sleep continuity and duration were moderated by biopsychosocial factors whereas sleep architecture was not. Implications and future research are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487, USA. meruiter@crimson.ua.edu
authors.forename: Megan E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Ruiter
authors.forename: Jamie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Decoster
authors.forename: Lindsey
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jacobs
authors.forename: Kenneth L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Lichstein
mesh_terms: D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D012890:Sleep; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000208:ethnology*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*