Characteristics of objectively-measured naturalistic light exposure patterns in U.S. adults: A cross-sectional analysis of two cohorts
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: ABSTRACT Light is a salient environmental exposure important for human physiology. Investigation of how light affects population health requires exposure assessment and personal biomonitoring efforts. Here, we derived measures of intensity, duration, regularity, and timing from objective personal light (lux) measurement in >4,000 participants across two United States (US)-based cohort studies, the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) and the Hispanic Community Health Study / Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL), encompassing eight geographic regions. Objective light and actigraphy data were collected over a week using wrist-worn devices (Actiwatch Spectrum). Cohort-stratified light exposure metrics were analyzed in relation to sex, season, time-of-day, location, and sleep health characteristics using Spearman correlation and linear and logistic regressions (separately by cohort) adjusted for age, sex, and exam site. Light exposure showed sex-specific patterns and had seasonal, diurnal, geographic, and sleep health-related correlates. Results between independent cohorts were strongly consistent, supporting the utility and feasibility of light biomonitoring. These findings provide a fundamental first characterization of light exposure patterns in a large US sample and will inform future work to incorporate light as a biologically relevant exposure in environmental public health and key component of the human exposome.
Institutions: Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard University, Emory University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Northwestern University, Broad Institute, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Language: English
Subfield: Endocrine and Autonomic Systems
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $4,250
Awards: MESA, G1409423729, Hispanic Community Health Study, G1666450717, G1686417863, G2262782284, Role of Meal Timing in Efficacy of Bariatric Surgery in Obese Individuals, MESA, G2484068070, HISPANIC COMMUNITY HEALTH STUDY - FIELD CENTER, G2528054427, MESA, SUBCLINICAL CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE STUDY--EBCT READING, G2970637568, G2986973357, Phenotypic and Molecular Signatures for Sleep Apnea and Related Morbidities, Hispanic Community Health Study, G343705321, G3647016462, G3687594596, MESA, G399481048, G4143790175, TITLE: MULTI-ETHNIC STUDY OF ATHEROSCLEROSIS (MESA), Hispanic Community Health Study, G445844152, G45079737, G4512137732, OPTION 3. 4/1/2014 - 3/31/2015. MULTI-ETHNIC STUDY OF ATHEROSCLEROSIS (MESA) - READING CENTER, NHLBI, MESA, G506761636, G5074247156, G5088122703, G5108002584, SUBCLINICAL CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE STUDY-ULTRASOUND, G5365244667, HISPANIC COMMUNITY HEALTH STUDY - COORDINATING CENTER, G5787256936, G6075306088, G6095866717, G6277886052, G6359107525, Institute for Clinical and Translational Research, MESA, G6514094751, G7132511053, MESA, G7667010295, Clinical and Translational Science Award, Leveraging omics data to understand sleep health and its consequences among diverse Hispanics/Latinos, Training in Sleep, Circadian, and Respiratory Neurobiology, UCLA Clinical and Translational Science Institute, G913983815
OpenAlex ID: W4407870027