# Relationships Among Sleep Parameters, Eating Behaviors, and Cardiovascular Disease Risk Biomarkers

> **NIH NIH R01** · INDIANA UNIVERSITY INDIANAPOLIS · 2024 · $11,031

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Because cardiovascular disease (CVD) affects 1 in 2 US adults, burdens disadvantaged groups, and incurs
high costs, the need to identify new prevention targets, their mechanisms, and effective interventions is great.
Like CVD, insomnia afflicts millions of US adults, burdens disadvantaged groups, and incurs high costs.
Moreover, insomnia is an independent, and likely causal, risk factor for CVD. Although candidate biological
mechanisms through which insomnia may promote CVD development have been identified, candidate
behavioral mechanisms have received less attention. Unhealthy eating behaviors – e.g., emotional eating,
external eating, restrained eating, poor diet quality, and night eating – are promising candidate behavioral
mechanisms due to their links with sleep disturbance and CVD risk. To date, little research has assessed the
relationships between objective sleep parameters and unhealthy eating behaviors, examined unhealthy eating
behaviors as mediators of sleep disturbance-CVD risk relationships, or explored sociodemographic factors as
moderators of these relationships. In this Diversity Supplement to the recently funded SHADES mechanistic
trial (R01 HL165115), we propose an observational ancillary study to address these knowledge gaps. The
proposed study will utilize data collected from a diverse sample of 200 primary care patients with insomnia
from a large safety net healthcare system. We will examine eating behavior data (to be acquired through this
supplement) and baseline data from the SHADES trial (to be acquired through the parent award) to achieve
the following specific aims: (1) assess relationships between objective sleep parameters and unhealthy eating
behaviors; (2) assess relationships between unhealthy eating behaviors and CVD risk biomarkers; (3) examine
if unhealthy eating behaviors mediate relationships between sleep parameters and CVD risk biomarkers; and
(exploratory) explore whether the relationships of interest are moderated by sex, race, or socioeconomic
status. Filling these knowledge gaps will advance understanding of the mechanisms underlying the insomnia-
to-CVD relationship, could identify novel targets for interventions designed to lower CVD risk in people with
insomnia, and could inform future tailored interventions. The candidate for this supplement is Timothy Lipuma,
a qualified and promising graduate student in IUPUI’s Clinical Psychology PhD program. Through the
proposed activities and under the mentorship of Dr. Jesse Stewart (PI of the parent trial), Mr. Lipuma will
achieve the following training goals: (1) increase knowledge and experience in the design and conduct of
clinical trials in primary care settings, (2) increase knowledge of insomnia screening and treatment and CVD
risk screening and management in primary care settings, and (3) further develop leadership ability and skill set.
Completing the proposed activities will pave the way for Mr. Lipuma to achieve his long-ter...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10991933
- **Project number:** 3R01HL165115-01A1S1
- **Recipient organization:** INDIANA UNIVERSITY INDIANAPOLIS
- **Principal Investigator:** Jesse C Stewart
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $11,031
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2023-08-15 → 2028-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10991933

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10991933, Relationships Among Sleep Parameters, Eating Behaviors, and Cardiovascular Disease Risk Biomarkers (3R01HL165115-01A1S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10991933. Licensed CC0.

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