title: Longitudinal differences in sleep duration in Hispanic and Caucasian children.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Short sleep duration is associated with significant negative consequences, including poor school performance, behavioral problems, obesity, and hypertension. There is prior evidence that there are disparities in sleep duration related to ethnicity; however, there are no specific data on Hispanic children. We aimed to test the hypothesis that there are ethnic differences in parent-reported sleep duration in a community-based cohort of Hispanic and Caucasian children.
  
  
  METHODS
  We examined the parent-reported sleep patterns of a community-based prospective cohort (Tucson Children's Assessment of Sleep Apnea study [TuCASA]) involving 338 Hispanic and Caucasian children at two time points approximately five years apart.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the initial phase of the TuCASA study with a cohort median age of 8.8 years (interquartile range (IQR), 7.6-10.1 years), parent-reported sleep duration during weekdays was shorter in Hispanic (median, 9.5 h; IQR, 9.0, 10.0 years) than in Caucasian children (10 h; IQR, 9.5, 10.0 h; p < 0.0001); however, this difference was not seen 5 years later when the cohort was older (median age, 13.3 years; IQR, 11.9-14.6 years; p = 0.43). In addition, Hispanic children had a significantly later bedtime at both time points (p < 0.02). In the initial phase, parent-reported sleep duration during weekends tended to be shorter in Hispanic than in Caucasian children (p = 0.06).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Short sleep duration in Hispanic children may contribute to health disparities. Our research suggests that in Hispanic children, behavioral interventions toward improving sleep duration accomplished by earlier bedtimes or delayed school start times and mechanistic studies to unravel any inherent tendency toward a delayed sleep phase are needed.
authors: Center for Sleep Disorders, Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA; Department of Medicine, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.
authors: Daniel
authors: D
authors: Combs
authors: Department of Medicine, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA; Arizona Respiratory Center, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.
authors: James L
authors: JL
authors: Goodwin
authors: Arizona Respiratory Center, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA; Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA; Division of Sleep Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
authors: Stuart F
authors: SF
authors: Quan
authors: Arizona Respiratory Center, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA; Department of Pediatrics, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.
authors: Wayne J
authors: WJ
authors: Morgan
authors: Center for Sleep Disorders, Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA; Department of Medicine, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA; Arizona Respiratory Center, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA. Electronic address: spartha@arc.arizona.edu.
authors: Sairam
authors: S
authors: Parthasarathy
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012890:Sleep / Q000502:physiology*; D012892:Sleep Deprivation / Q000208:ethnology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D044465:White People
keywords: Circadian rhythm; Health status disparities; Hispanic americans; Sleep; Sleep deprivation