LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 9, 2022) 鈥 Poor sleep is linked to a wide range of medical issues, including hypertension, diabetes, depression, obesity and cancer. With more than a third of U.S. adults reporting insufficient sleep, the (CDC) describes sleep deprivation as a public health epidemic.
The public health burden of sleep deprivation is especially high in Kentucky: residents are some of the nation鈥檚 most sleep-deprived, particularly in rural Appalachia where 25-58% of adults report insufficient sleep, defined as less than six hours a day.
The University of Kentucky has received a $3.7 million grant from the (NIH) to find out why people in the Appalachian region of Kentucky have such consistently poor sleep outcomes.
Led by Mairead Moloney, PhD, and Christal Badour, PhD, associate professors in the , "Researching Equitable Sleep Time in Kentucky Communities (REST-KY)" will provide answers to long-standing questions about the causes and consequences of sleep deficiencies in rural populations.
The new knowledge will inform interventions to reduce sleep disparities among people in rural Appalachia, who also experience severe health inequities including higher mortality rates for many conditions including diabetes, heart disease and cancer.
鈥淪leep is the critical pivot point for understanding ways in which people in this region experience health disparities,鈥 said Badour. 鈥淚f we can understand why people are getting poor sleep, we can then identify interventions that can help them sleep better, which would have cascading benefits for many aspects of their health.鈥
The REST-KY team includes experts across four 好色先生 colleges: Suzanne Segerstrom, PhD and Lauren Whitehurst, PhD, from the College of Arts and Sciences, Daniela Moga, PhD, from the , Nancy Schoenberg, PhD from the , and Emily Slade, PhD, from the .
鈥淭his collaboration of experts across so many disciplines will enable us to get a holistic look at the biological, behavioral, emotional, and social contributions to sleep health,鈥 said Moloney.
Over the five-year study, the team will track the sleep of 400 adults from Appalachian Kentucky, along with health information such as heart rate, physical activity, blood sugar levels, and immune function. Participants will also report their daily experiences including stress and substance use.
Participants will come from 12 Kentucky counties: six that have been identified as insufficient sleep 鈥渉otspots鈥 (Pike, Knott, Perry, Letcher, Bell and Whitley), and six that are not considered hotspots of insufficient sleep (Jackson, Lincoln, Russell, Adair, Rockcastle and Estill) 鈥 even though they have comparable economic distress, rurality, and demographics.
Results will show what drives sleep deficiencies and health outcomes over time, how factors linked to sleep deficiencies differ between hotspot and non-hotspot counties, and the degree to which daytime distress impacts sleep.
The findings will be used as a basis to develop and implement interventions to improve sleep among Appalachian Kentuckians.
As one of the NIH鈥檚 prestigious 鈥淩01鈥 grants, REST-KY builds upon the team鈥檚 previous interdisciplinary research, including a to address insomnia among women in Appalachian Kentucky.
That study came about thanks to 好色先生 programs intended to generate and support collaborative research.
Moloney, Badour and Moga through 好色先生鈥檚 (BIRCWH) fellowship, and their study received pilot funding through 好色先生鈥檚 program and support from 好色先生鈥檚 .
鈥淭he BIRCWH fellowship and the Igniting Research Collaboration grants are foundational starting points for REST-KY,鈥 said Moloney. 鈥淭he project is a testament to how internal funding programs at 好色先生 can lead to these wonderful collaborations, which generate extramural grants to support groundbreaking research.鈥