# Longitudinal study of sleep deficiency mechanisms among Filipino migrants

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · 2021 · $519,371

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
Sleep deficiency is a major public health concern. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that
about 20% of American adults have insufficient sleep. Short sleep duration and irregular sleep timing is related
to increased risk for health problems ranging from obesity to diabetes to earlier mortality, as well as other
problems such increased unintentional injuries and decreased ability to concentrate. Per Healthy People 2020,
understanding the burden sleep deficiencies among minority populations is an important public health goal.
Filipino Americans are a significant population from which to study sleep because they have relatively high
rates of diabetes, obesity, and heart disease, and preliminary studies have suggested that they also have
shorter sleep duration compared with African Americans and Whites.
A major unanswered question relates to the mechanisms that may drive shorter sleep duration and irregular
sleep timing. We hypothesize that stress plays a key role, and that several important mechanisms mediate the
association between stressors and sleep disparities. These mechanisms include rumination, diet, physical
activity, disrupted routines, and environmental stimuli, such as noise and light.
The present study builds on an ongoing 3-year longitudinal study of Filipino American immigrants titled, Health
of Philippine Emigrants Study (HoPES; R01HD083574). HoPES is currently in its first year and collects
detailed information regarding stressors, diet, physical activity, anthropometrics and biomarkers obtained from
dried blood spots. This application seeks to add objective measures of sleep activity via actigraphy, and
comprehensive sleep quality questions. We will also study the effects of sunlight variability as another
mechanism that may disrupt circadian rhythms. Our study will integrate a biopsychosocial framework from
which to longitudinally study sleep patterns of Filipinos (n=832) across the U.S. over 4 years of new data
collection. We will also conduct key-informant interviews and re-interviews with 60 participants in 6 cities
across the nation to understand the cultural mechanisms that may affect sleep disturbances.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10197017
- **Project number:** 5R01MD012755-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES
- **Principal Investigator:** Gilbert Gee
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $519,371
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-09-23 → 2024-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10197017

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10197017, Longitudinal study of sleep deficiency mechanisms among Filipino migrants (5R01MD012755-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10197017. Licensed CC0.

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