"Neighborhood Disadvantage, Sleep and Vascular Health" (NDSVH)

There are well-documented disparities between Black and white Americans in the incidence of cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death in America. There are also disparities between Black and White Americans in the incidence of hypertension (high blood pressure; BP), which is the leading risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Our long-term goal is to determine effective strategies to prevent racial disparities in cardiovascular health. In this proposal, the investigators will focus on determining societal and biological mediators of racial disparities in young adults that can be targeted in future interventions. Poor sleep is associated with adverse cardiovascular events and hypertension. Moreover, recent meta-analyses demonstrate that Black adults have consistently poorer sleep health than White adults, including receiving fewer total sleep minutes and having worse overall sleep quality. Neighborhood socioeconomic environments influence health behaviors through both material resources (e.g., access to healthful foods and safe public space) and social norms (e.g. exercise, diet, smoking). A well-documented history of discriminatory policies and practices has resulted in black individuals living in more disadvantaged physical and social environments than whites. As such, they experience greater adverse exposures (e.g., racism, violence and stress), which negatively impact sleep, resulting in dysregulation of cardiometabolic health. Therefore, the investigators seek to determine the role of neighborhood disadvantage and sleep in contributing to racial disparities in cardiovascular health.