0263 Food Insecurity After Job Loss Is Associated with Lower Multidimensional Sleep Health over Time

Abstract Introduction About 35 million people live in food insecure households creating substantial public health burden. While prior research supports the relationship between food insecurity and disturbed/curtailed sleep, most studies have employed cross-sectional designs and relied on surveys. This project sought to examine the longitudinal relationship between food insecurity and multidimensional sleep health in a group of individuals highly vulnerable to financial strain, participants with a recent history of involuntary job loss. Methods The ADAPT study is an observational, longitudinal study that assessed the negative health effects of involuntary job loss over the course of approximately 18 months (6 visits). A multidimensional sleep health composite (Ru-SATED) was calculated using raw actigraphy data, a daily sleep diary, and a sleep interview. Participants were classified as food insecure if they reported a score of 2-6 on the Household Food Security Scale within the first six months of job loss (first 2 visits). Results With robust control for socioeconomic status, food insecurity was associated with worse multidimensional sleep health across all timepoints (Estimate = -.43, SE = .18, 95% CI [-0.78, -0.08]). Food insecurity was associated with poor sleep quality (sleep diary; p < .01), worse sleep efficiency (actigraphy; p < .01), and later sleep timing (actigraphy; p < .05). Food insecurity was not associated with sleep duration (actigraphy) or sleep regularity (actigraphy). Conclusion Results suggest that individuals experiencing food insecurity six months after job loss had worse multidimensional sleep health that sustained over time. These findings extend the negative impact of food insecurity on self-reported sleep indices to multidimensional sleep health that incorporates subjective, objective, and interview measures. Future research is needed to assess whether increased accessibility to food after job loss could improve sleep health along with other health risks in this vulnerable population. Support (if any) This work is supported by the US National Institute of Health, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI,1R01HL117995-01A1).