# Sleep Apnea Phenotypes in Latinos (SLEPT)

> **NIH NIH R21** · UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI SCHOOL OF MEDICINE · 2020 · $117,368

## Abstract

Project Summary
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a vascular risk factor that can lead to development of diabetes mellitus and
cardiovascular disease (CVD). Importantly, OSA is highly prevalent in Latinos, who have more than a 2-fold risk
of diabetes and CVD compared to non-Hispanic whites; disparities that motivated this R21 application. Treatment
of OSA has not consistently reduced cardiovascular risk in clinical trials, results partly explained by suboptimal
adherence to positive airway pressure therapy. Alternatively, identifying the subset of individuals who respond
more favorably to OSA therapy can lead to personalized care and greater reduction in CVD. Of interest, OSA
phenotypes have been described using data-driven analytical methods, such as cluster analysis, allowing
evaluation of distinct groups of OSA patients at higher risk for CVD. Importantly, OSA phenotypes have not been
described in Latinos, who have a large burden of diabetes and CVD. In addition, most studies are comprised of
middle-aged males from clinical centers, which could introduce selection bias. Hence, there is a gap of
prospective population based studies that can advance our understanding of OSA phenotypes and CVD risk,
especially in a large and diverse sample of Latinos. Sleep apnea phenotypes in Latinos (SLEPT) evaluate OSA
phenotypes in a large population-based cohort of U.S. Latinos. We efficiently leveraged the baseline and second-
wave data of the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (SOL; N=16,415). SOL provides extensive
and detailed data on sociocultural, genetic, and cardiovascular risk factors. At baseline (2008-2011), SOL
obtained home-sleep test in over 16,000 participants and sleep habits through questionnaires and actigraphy, in
a subsample of 2,252 SOL participants. In this exploratory study, we propose to analyze the sleep and
cardiovascular measures obtained at SOL Visit 1 and new emerging data, obtained during follow-up in visit 2
(years 2014-2017). SLEPT will define the sleep phenotypes associated to early cardiovascular risk; provide
preliminary data for polysomnography in future studies and identify at-risk individuals for sleep interventions and
CVD outcomes in SOL. Therefore we aim to 1) identify OSA phenotypes across age, sex and Latino groups and
2) determine which phenotypes associates with prevalent and incident diabetes mellitus and CVD. By year 2060,
29% of the U.S. population will be Latino. However, there is no information about the OSA phenotypes that
prospectively associate with CVD risk in Latinos. SLEPT will address the factors that explain within Latino
differences in sleep, diabetes and CVD; in addition to Latino health disparities when compared to other U.S.
demographic groups. This study is responsive to Healthy People 2020 goals and the NIH/NHLBI workshop on
Personalized Medicine and Hispanic Health.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9859447
- **Project number:** 5R21HL140437-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
- **Principal Investigator:** Alberto Rafael Ramos
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $117,368
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-02-01 → 2021-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9859447

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9859447, Sleep Apnea Phenotypes in Latinos (SLEPT) (5R21HL140437-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9859447. Licensed CC0.

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