Sleep disturbance and psychiatric disorders: a bidirectional Mendelian randomisation study

Apr 25, 2022Epidemiology and psychiatric sciences

Sleep problems and mental health conditions may influence each other: a genetic study

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Abstract

Genetically determined insomnia is associated with increased odds ratios of 1.33 for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, 1.31 for major depressive disorder, and 1.32 for post-traumatic stress disorder.

  • Insomnia shows a strong causal relationship with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, major depressive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
  • Morningness chronotype exhibits suggestive inverse associations with the risks of major depressive disorder and schizophrenia.
  • Genetically predicted sleep duration is nominally associated with an increased risk of bipolar disorder.
  • Post-traumatic stress disorder and major depressive disorder are linked to a higher risk of developing insomnia.
  • Suggestive inverse associations between attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, major depressive disorder, and sleep duration were also observed.

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Key numbers

1.33
Increase in Odds of ADHD
Odds ratio for ADHD associated with insomnia
1.31
Increase in Odds of MDD
Odds ratio for MDD associated with insomnia
1.32
Increase in Odds of PTSD
Odds ratio for PTSD associated with insomnia

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What this is

  • This research investigates the causal relationships between sleep disturbances and psychiatric disorders using .
  • It focuses on three sleep traits: insomnia, chronotype, and sleep duration, and their associations with seven psychiatric conditions.
  • The findings suggest bidirectional relationships, where sleep disturbances may influence psychiatric disorders and vice versa.

Essence

  • Genetically predicted insomnia is linked to increased risks of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), major depressive disorder (MDD), and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Conversely, MDD and PTSD are associated with a higher likelihood of insomnia.

Key takeaways

  • Genetically determined insomnia increases the odds of ADHD by 1.33 (95% CI 1.22–1.45), MDD by 1.31 (95% CI 1.25–1.37), and PTSD by 1.32 (95% CI 1.23–1.40).
  • MDD and PTSD are associated with increased risks of insomnia, with odds ratios of 1.37 (95% CI 1.14–1.64) and 1.06 (95% CI 1.03–1.10), respectively.
  • Suggestive inverse associations were found between morningness chronotype and the risks of MDD (OR = 0.94) and schizophrenia (OR = 0.88).

Caveats

  • The study relies on genetic instruments primarily from European populations, which may limit generalizability to other ethnic groups.
  • Causal relationships inferred from may not capture the complexity of psychiatric disorders and their interactions with sleep.
  • The analysis does not account for potential nonlinear effects of sleep traits on psychiatric disorders, which warrants further investigation.

Definitions

  • Mendelian randomisation: A method using genetic variants as instrumental variables to infer causal relationships between risk factors and outcomes.

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