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The Effects of Genetic Background for Diurnal Preference on Sleep Development in Early Childhood
Isabel Morales-Muñoz1,2, Katri Kantojärvi1,3, Veli-Matti Uhre1
1Department of Public Health Solutions, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland.
Insights
Genetic predisposition to eveningness in children is linked to longer sleep onset and lower sleep efficiency in early life. This research clarifies biological factors influencing infant sleep development and architecture.
Area of Science:
- Child development
- Genetics
- Sleep science
Background:
- No prior research has explored the genetic basis of diurnal preference in relation to children's sleep patterns.
- Understanding genetic influences on sleep is crucial for addressing developmental sleep issues.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of genetic risk scores for diurnal preference on sleep development in early childhood.
- To examine the association between genetic liability for eveningness/morningness and sleep characteristics in infants.
Main Methods:
- Utilized two Finnish population-based cohorts (CHILD-SLEEP and FinnBrain) with over 3000 infants.
- Assessed parent-reported sleep (duration, latency, bedtime) and actigraphy-measured sleep (latency, efficiency) from infancy to two years.
- Calculated polygenic risk scores (PRS) for eveningness (PRSBestFit) and morningness (PRS10kBest).
Main Results:
- Polygenic risk scores for eveningness (PRSBestFit) were associated with longer sleep-onset latency and later bedtimes.
- Genetic risk for diurnal preference showed a replicated association with sleep-onset latency across cohorts.
- PRSBestFit correlated with objectively measured lower sleep efficiency and longer sleep latency at eight months.
Conclusions:
- Genetic liability towards eveningness is associated with prolonged sleep onset during the first two years of life.
- Objective measures indicate reduced sleep efficiency in infants with a genetic predisposition for eveningness.
- Findings contribute to understanding biological factors in early childhood sleep development and physiology.
Purpose:
No previous research has examined the impact of the genetic background of diurnal preference on children´s sleep. Here, we examined the effects of genetic risk score for the liability of diurnal preference on sleep development in early childhood in two population-based cohorts from Finland.
Participants And Methods:
The primary sample (CHILD-SLEEP, CS) comprised 1420 infants (695 girls), and the replication sample (FinnBrain, FB; 962 girls) 2063 infants. Parent-reported sleep duration, sleep-onset latency and bedtime were assessed at three, eight, 18 and 24 months in CS, and at six, 12 and 24 months in FB. Actigraphy-based sleep latency and efficiency were measured in CS in 365 infants at eight months (168 girls), and in 197 infants at 24 months (82 girls). Mean standard scores for each sleep domain were calculated in both samples. Polygenic risk scores (PRS) were used to quantitate the genetic risk for eveningness (PRSBestFit) and morningness (PRS10kBest).
Results:
PRSBestFit associated with longer sleep-onset latency and later bedtime, and PRS10kBest related to shorter sleep-onset latency in CS. The link between genetic risk for diurnal preference and sleep-onset latency was replicated in FB, and meta-analysis resulted in associations (P<0.0005) with both PRS-values (PRSBestFit: Z=3.55; and PRS10kBest: Z=-3.68). Finally, PRSBestFit was related to actigraphy-based lower sleep efficiency and longer sleep latency at eight months.
Conclusion:
Genetic liability to diurnal preference for eveningness relates to longer sleep-onset during the first two years of life, and to objectively measured lowered sleep efficiency. These findings enhance our understanding on the biological factors affecting sleep development, and contribute to clarify the physiological sleep architecture in early childhood.
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