Is disrupted sleep a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease? Evidence from a two-sample Mendelian randomization analysis
Year: 2020
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: BACKGROUND: It is established that Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients experience sleep disruption. However, it remains unknown whether disruption in the quantity, quality or timing of sleep is a risk factor for the onset of AD. METHODS: We used the largest published genome-wide association studies of self-reported and accelerometer-measured sleep traits (chronotype, duration, fragmentation, insomnia, daytime napping and daytime sleepiness), and AD. Mendelian randomization (MR) was used to estimate the causal effect of self-reported and accelerometer-measured sleep parameters on AD risk. RESULTS: Overall, there was little evidence to support a causal effect of sleep traits on AD risk. There was some suggestive evidence that self-reported daytime napping was associated with lower AD risk [odds ratio (OR): 0.70, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.50-0.99). Some other sleep traits (accelerometer-measured 'eveningness' and sleep duration, and self-reported daytime sleepiness) had ORs of a similar magnitude to daytime napping, but were less precisely estimated. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, we found very limited evidence to support a causal effect of sleep traits on AD risk. Our findings provide tentative evidence that daytime napping may reduce AD risk. Given that this is the first MR study of multiple self-report and objective sleep traits on AD risk, findings should be replicated using independent samples when such data become available.
DOI: 10.1093/ije/dyaa183
Authors: Emma L Anderson, Rebecca C Richmond, Samuel E Jones, Gibran Hemani, Kaitlin H Wade, Hassan S Dashti, Jacqueline M Lane, Heming Wang, Richa Saxena, Ben Brumpton, Roxanna Korologou-Linden, Jonas B Nielsen, Bjørn Olav Åsvold, Gonçalo Abecasis, Elizabeth Coulthard, Simon D Kyle, Robin N Beaumont, Jessica Tyrrell, Timothy M Frayling, Marcus R Munafò, Andrew R Wood, Yoav Ben-Shlomo, Laura D Howe, Deborah A Lawlor, Michael N Weedon, George Davey Smith
Institutions: University of Bristol, MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, University of Exeter, Broad Institute, Harvard University, Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, St Olav's University Hospital, University of Michigan, Michigan Medicine, University of Oxford
Language: English
Topic: Sleep and related disorders
Subfield: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $4,514
Funders: Wellcome Trust, National Institute for Health and Care Research, Royal Society, University of Bristol, National Institutes of Health, Medical Research Council, Economic and Social Research Council, National Institute on Aging, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, H2020 European Research Council, FP7 Ideas: European Research Council
Awards: G1058688197, G1112915806, G1182606701, G1205690636, Reproductive and cardio-metabolic health, G1440775142, The causes of hyperglycaemia in the face of rising obesity, The causal map of the human phenome, G1719708203, G1868539007, G2220241606, Identifying non-coding mutations in early-onset diabetes, G2530512575, G2538597952, Early life adversity and trajectories of cardiometabolic health, cognitive function and physical function: improving understanding of the mechanisms and potential reversibility, G2786058305, G2819467015, G2957837340, G3233549029, G3288322216, G339059223, Using genetics to understand how the maternal intrauterine environment influences fetal growth., What lies behind the causal impact of body mass index (BMI) level and change on human health? Added value from complementary study design and deep metabolomic phenotyping., G4926237837, G5260012927, G5345017641, The causal map of the human phenome, G5470336846, Life course aetiology of dementia and cognitive decline: improving causal inference, NIHR Senior Investigator Award, G6285097384, Early life adversity and trajectories of cardiometabolic health, cognitive function and physical function: improving understanding of the mechanisms a, Mendelian randomization to hypothesis-free causal inference, G6876337519, Using genetics to understand how the maternal intrauterine environment influences fetal growth., G7194418384, G7264751730, G7283484021, G7448564355, Mediation analysis in life course epidemiology: methodological innovation and application to studies of obesity and cardiometabolic health, G7990456425, G8201869620, What lies behind the causal impact of body mass index (BMI) level and change on human health? Added value from complementary study design and deep metabolomic phenotyping., G843141311, G8502142660, G8737378601, G8907334132, Dissecting heterogeneity of excessive daytime sleepiness and impact on cardiovascular diseases
OpenAlex ID: W3082881287