Sleep patterns according to ethnicity and socio-demographic characteristics in the population of São Paulo

• Grant number: 22/05430-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: July 01, 2022
• End date: December 31, 2022
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Dalva Lucia Rollemberg Poyares
• Grantee: Júlia Kondo
• Host Institution: Escola Paulista de Medicina (EPM). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus São Paulo. São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Sleep is a behavior expressed differently by each individual, however, some populations express sleep patterns in common, which can be observed in different ethnicities. Previous studies have already proven the existence of sleep disparities in ethnically diverse populations, especially when comparing Whites and African-Americans. Nevertheless, most of these studies consider self-reported ethnicity and subjectively assess sleep, for example, using questionnaires. This fact makes important sleep influencers little recognized, such as socio-demographic characteristics. Furthermore, cultural factors can also affect the way each individual deals with sleep disorders, which significantly interferes with the assessment of questionnaires. Thus, the aim of this study is to elucidate sleep disparities in different ethnicities based on an estimated analysis of genetic ancestry and objective sleep assessment tools, such as polysomnography. The study population is part of the EPISONO research project that encompasses the population of São Paulo, which is known for its ethnic-racial diversity. Genetic-based assessment will also help to understand the modulating effects of sleep on socio-demographic and cultural characteristics, in addition to enabling the study of sleep-related morbidity risk for each ethnicity.(AU)