Examining the Impact of Employment Status on Sleep Quality During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Two Low-Income Neighborhoods in Pittsburgh, PA

Study Objectives African Americans have faced disproportionate socioeconomic and health consequences associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. The current study examines employment and its association with sleep quality during the initial months of the pandemic in a low-income, predominantly African American adult sample. Methods In the early months of COVID-19 (March to May 2020), we administered a survey to an ongoing, longitudinal cohort of older adults to assess the impact of COVID-related changes in employment on self-reported sleep quality (N=460; 93.9% African American). Participants had prior sleep quality assessed in 2018 and a subset also had sleep quality assessed in 2013 and 2016. Primary analyses focused on the prevalence of poor sleep quality and changes in sleep quality between 2018 and 2020, according to employment status. Financial strain and prior income were assessed as moderators of the association between employment status and sleep quality. We plotted trend lines showing sleep quality from 2013 to 2020 in a subset (n=339) with all four waves of sleep data available. Results All participants experienced increases in poor sleep quality between 2018 and 2020, with no statistical differences between the employment groups. However, we found some evidence of moderation by financial strain and income. The trend analysis demonstrated increases in poor sleep quality primarily between 2018 and 2020. Conclusions Sleep quality worsened during the pandemic among low-income African American adults. Policies to support the financially vulnerable and marginalized populations could benefit sleep quality.

Plant-based diets and incident cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality in African Americans: A cohort study

Background Prior studies have documented lower cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk among people with a higher adherence to a plant-based dietary pattern. Non-Hispanic black Americans are an understudied group with high burden of CVD, yet studies of plant-based diets have been limited in this population. Methods and findings We conducted an analysis of prospectively collected data from a community-based cohort of African American adults (n = 3,635) in the Jackson Heart Study (JHS) aged 21–95 years, living in the Jackson, Mississippi, metropolitan area, US, who were followed from 2000 to 2018. Using self-reported dietary data, we assigned scores to participants’ adherence to 3 plant-based dietary patterns: an overall plant-based diet index (PDI), a healthy PDI (hPDI), and an unhealthy PDI (uPDI). Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate associations between plant-based diet scores and CVD incidence and all-cause mortality. Over a median follow-up of 13 and 15 years, there were 293 incident CVD cases and 597 deaths, respectively. After adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics (age, sex, and education) and health behaviors (smoking, alcohol intake, margarine intake, physical activity, and total energy intake), no significant association was observed between plant-based diets and incident CVD for overall PDI (hazard ratio [HR] 1.06, 95% CI 0.78–1.42, p-trend = 0.72), hPDI (HR 1.07, 95% CI 0.80–1.42, p-trend = 0.67), and uPDI (HR 0.95, 95% CI 0.71–1.28, p-trend = 0.76). Corresponding HRs (95% CIs) for all-cause mortality risk with overall PDI, hPDI, and uPDI were 0.96 (0.78–1.18), 0.94 (0.76–1.16), and 1.06 (0.86–1.30), respectively. Corresponding HRs (95% CIs) for incident coronary heart disease with overall PDI, hPDI, and uPDI were 1.09 (0.74–1.61), 1.11 (0.76–1.61), and 0.79 (0.52–1.18), respectively. For incident total stroke, HRs (95% CIs) for overall PDI, hPDI, and uPDI were 1.00 (0.66–1.52), 0.91 (0.61–1.36), and 1.26 (0.84–1.89) (p-trend for all tests > 0.05). Limitations of the study include use of self-reported dietary intake, residual confounding, potential for reverse causation, and that the study did not capture those who exclusively consume plant-derived foods. Conclusions In this study of black Americans, we observed that, unlike in prior studies, greater adherence to a plant-based diet was not associated with CVD or all-cause mortality.

Social Relationships and Social Engagement Among African American Adults With a History of Incarceration

Strong social relationships and social engagement are crucial for both successful aging and successful community re-entry after incarceration. Here, we utilized a mixed methods approach to understand the impact of incarceration on social relationships and social engagement among formerly incarcerated community-dwelling African-American adults aged >50. Participants in the 2012 or 2014 waves of the Health and Retirement Study answered questions regarding prior incarceration, social relationships, and participation in social activities. Additionally, we utilized key informant interviews to further explore how incarceration might impact relationships and social engagement. This presentation will describe quantitative associations between prior incarceration and social relationship structure & function. Further, we will use our qualitative interview data to further explore possible explanations for our findings. Finally, we will describe how MCUAAAR Scientist/Faculty interactions facilitated this work.

The Interactive Effects of Education and Social Support on Blood Pressure in African Americans

This study examined whether the effects of received and provided social support on blood pressure (BP) would differ by education. Data from 602 African American adults (48-95 years) enrolled in the Baltimore Study of Black Aging—Patterns of Cognitive Aging were analyzed using multiple linear regression. We found no main effects of received and provided social support on BP. However, a significant moderation effect was observed for systolic BP, such that greater received social support was positively associated with higher systolic BP among individuals with low levels of education, adjusting for age, sex, chronic health conditions, and depressive symptoms. The findings demonstrate that social support and education have joint effects on blood pressure, which highlights the importance of considering psychosocial determinants of adverse cardiovascular health outcomes that disproportionately affect African Americans.

629. High Efficacy of Bictegravir/Emtricitabine/Tenofovir Alafenamide (B/F/TAF) in African American Adults with HIV Including Those with Preexisting Resistance, Viral Blips, and Suboptimal Adherence

Background BRAAVE 2020 demonstrated the efficacy of switching to bictegravir/emtricitabine/tenofovir alafenamide (B/F/TAF) among African American adults with suppressed HIV through Week (W) 48 (Figure 1). We present resistance, viral blips, adherence, and virologic outcomes through W72. Figure 1. BRAAVE 2020 study design (phase 3, randomized, open-label, multicenter [USA], active-controlled study) and virologic suppression at weeks 24 and 48 *Allowed 3rd agents: any FDA-approved protease inhibitor, nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (except etravirine), integrase strand transfer inhibitor (except bictegravir), or maraviroc. Methods Enrollment criteria permitted NNRTI resistance (-R), PI-R, and certain NRTI-R (M184V/I allowed; K65R/E/N, ≥3 thymidine analog mutations [TAMs], or T69-insertions excluded) and excluded known primary INSTI-R. Preexisting drug resistance was assessed with historical genotypes and retrospective baseline proviral DNA genotyping. Adherence was calculated by pill count. Viral blips (transient HIV-1 RNA ≥50 copies/mL) and outcomes based on last available on-treatment HIV-1 RNA were assessed. Results 489 participants received B/F/TAF and had ≥1 post-switch HIV-1 RNA measurement. Baseline genotypic data from cumulative historical and/or proviral genotypes were available for 96% (468/489) in protease/reverse transcriptase and 93% (453/489) in integrase. Preexisting NRTI-R, M184V/I, ≥1 TAMs, NNRTI-R, and PI-R were observed in 15% (68/468), 11% (50/468), 8% (36/468), 22% (101/468), and 13% (61/468), respectively. Primary INSTI-R was detected post-randomization in 2% (11/453); all remained in the study and were included in efficacy analyses. Through W72, 99% (486/489) of participants had HIV-1 RNA < 50 copies/mL at their last study visit, including all with baseline NRTI-R or INSTI-R (Figure 2). Mean frequency of viral blips was 1% per timepoint, and blips were not associated with virologic failure. 112 participants (23%) had < 95% adherence by pill count, 98% (110/112) of whom had HIV-1 RNA < 50 copies/mL at last visit, including 14 of 14 (100%) with < 80% adherence. No participant discontinued due to lack of efficacy or had treatment emergent resistance to study drugs. Figure 2. Virologic suppression by preexisting resistance, viral blips, and adherence Conclusion Virologic suppression was maintained through W72 of B/F/TAF treatment, including those with preexisting resistance, viral blips, and suboptimal adherence. Continued HIV suppression and absence of treatment-emergent resistance demonstrate the efficacy of B/F/TAF in African Americans regardless of adherence or preexisting resistance to NNRTIs, PIs, or non-tenofovir NRTIs. Disclosures Kristen Andreatta, MSc, Gilead Sciences, Inc (Employee, Shareholder) Michelle L. D'Antoni, PhD, Gilead Sciences (Employee, Shareholder)Gilead Sciences, Inc (Employee, Shareholder) Silvia Chang, Masters, Gilead Sciences, Inc (Employee, Shareholder) Aiyappa Parvangada, MS Computational Biology, Gilead Sciences, Inc (Employee, Shareholder) Ross Martin, PhD, Gilead Sciences, Inc (Employee, Shareholder) Christiana Blair, MS, Gilead Sciences, Inc (Employee, Shareholder) Sean E. Collins, MD, MS, Gilead Sciences, Inc (Employee, Shareholder) Kirsten L. White, PhD, Gilead Sciences, Inc (Employee, Shareholder)