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Sleep Duration and Area-Level Deprivation in Twins
Nathaniel F Watson1,2,3, Erin Horn4, Glen E Duncan3,5
1Department of Neurology, University of Washington (UW), Seattle, WA.
Sleep
|August 19, 2015
Summary
Area-level deprivation, measured by the Singh Index, is linked to shorter sleep duration. Increased deprivation also elevates the unique genetic and environmental influences on sleep length.
Area of Science:
- Quantitative genetics
- Sleep research
- Socioeconomic factors
Background:
- Sleep duration is influenced by genetic and environmental factors.
- Socioeconomic status can impact health behaviors, including sleep.
- The Singh Index quantifies area-level deprivation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between area-level deprivation (Singh Index) and sleep duration.
- To determine if deprivation modifies the genetic and environmental contributions to sleep duration.
Main Methods:
- Utilized quantitative genetic models on 4,218 adult twin pairs from the University of Washington Twin Registry.
- Assessed habitual sleep duration via self-report and area-level deprivation using the Singh Index.
- Employed univariate and bivariate genetic decomposition and interaction models (ACE framework).
Main Results:
- A significant negative relationship was observed between the Singh Index and sleep duration (b = -0.080, P < 0.001).
- Each 1 SD increase in the Singh Index correlated with approximately 4.5 minutes less sleep.
- Increased area-level deprivation was associated with greater unique genetic (A) and nonshared environmental (E) variance in sleep duration.
Conclusions:
- Area-level deprivation shows a quasi-causal association with shorter sleep duration.
- The influence of unique genetic and nonshared environmental factors on sleep duration increases with greater deprivation.
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