Sleep Characteristics in Adults of African Descent at Risk for and with Cardiometabolic Conditions: A Systematic Review

The purpose of this systematic review is to synthesize available studies on sleep health characteristics in adults of African descent with or at risk for cardiometabolic conditions. PubMed, PsycINFO, CINAHL, and Web of Science were searched for original research studies on subgroups of African descent with at least one cardiometabolic risk factor. Studies published in English with measured sleep characteristics were included. Studies focused on participants with severe psychiatric illness, night shift workers, or with a pharmacologic sleep treatment focus were excluded. The risk for bias was assessed using the NHLBI 2021 Quality Assessment Tool. Two reviewers independently synthesized the results before reaching a consensus. Out of 340 studies screened, 35 studies were included. There were 631,756 participants with an average age of 44.3 combined (SD = 16.5) (53% female and 22% Black). Disparities in sleep health characteristics and cardiometabolic health among African American adults were found. Markers of poor cardiometabolic health were associated with disordered sleep. While the studies in this review captured key factors, the study measurement methods were inconsistent, and African Caribbean Americans were underrepresented. The studies demonstrated the intersectionality of poor sleep characteristics, cardiometabolic risk factors, and racial/ethnic groupings. Clinicians should consider these findings when providing care.