Advance-CTR

Advance RI-CTR Mentored Research Award (2023)

"Sleep and asthma-related environmental factors that contribute to disparities in sleep and asthma outcomes in urban children."

This study will assess both the independent and combined associations of specific sleep (noise and light) and asthma-related environmental (temperature, humidity, indicators of air quality) factors that are relevant for sleep and asthma outcomes in urban children with asthma using objective assessments. These data will inform the development of a multi-component behavioral and environmental intervention to improve sleep and asthma outcomes in urban children.

Disparities in asthma outcomes persist in Latino and Black children compared to their Non-Latino White (NLW) peers. Children with asthma are shown to be at increased risk for poorer sleep outcomes due to factors related to their urban environment and poorly controlled asthma. While there is recognition of the environmental asthma triggers that challenge asthma control in the home setting and the importance of evidenced-based environmental interventions to successfully improve asthma control, the focus on the impact of environmental asthma triggers on children’s sleep has been understudied.

In addition to asthma triggers, there are sleep environmental factors more prevalent in urban settings that can disrupt sleep and curtail the amount of sleep children obtain. To our knowledge, there are no studies that have examined the independent and combined associations of noise and light exposure and children’s sleep in urban children with asthma. Temperature changes can have an impact on both asthma and sleep outcomes but have not been thoroughly assessed in this group. Studies including objective assessments of asthma and sleep environmental factors critical for optimal sleep in urban children are needed, given results can inform multi-component interventions addressing both asthma and sleep in this population.

This project aims to assess both the independent and combined associations of specific sleep (noise and light) and asthma-related environmental (temperature, humidity, indicators of air quality) factors that are relevant for sleep and asthma outcomes in urban children with asthma using objective assessments.

60 children (ages 7-11, from Latino, AA, and NLW backgrounds) with persistent asthma and their primary caregivers will be enrolled. Each child/caregiver will participate in a 14- day protocol involving an assessment of the child’s sleep context, sleep status (via actigraphy), asthma status (lung function via handheld spirometry, report of symptoms/control), air quality (by air quality monitor to measure PM2.5, temperature, and humidity), environmental tobacco smoke exposure (via salivary cotinine level). The sleep context will be examined through our environmental walk-through assessment, in-depth caregiver/child interviews, and self-report assessments, and objective measurement of light (by actigraphy) and noise (by noise monitor) during monitoring. These data will inform the development of a multi-component behavioral and environmental intervention to improve sleep and asthma outcomes in urban children

Mentor