Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 9, 2025

Sample Preparation to Bioinformatics Analysis of DNA Methylation: Association Strategy for Obesity and Related Trait Studies
14:56

Sample Preparation to Bioinformatics Analysis of DNA Methylation: Association Strategy for Obesity and Related Trait Studies

Published on: May 6, 2022

4.4K

Causal Relationship Between Childhood Obesity and Sleep Apnea Syndrome: Bidirectional Two-Sample Mendelian

Ping Wang1, Shuli Liu1, Ling Min Kong1

  • 1Department of Pediatrics, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Shandong First Medical University, Taian, Shandong, 271000, People's Republic of China.

Nature and Science of Sleep
|October 28, 2024
PubMed

Insights

Childhood obesity causally increases the risk of developing sleep apnea syndrome. Early prevention and management are crucial for individuals with a history of childhood obesity to mitigate sleep apnea risks.

Area of Science:

  • Genetics and Public Health
  • Epidemiology
  • Mendelian Randomization

Background:

  • Childhood obesity is a global pandemic linked to numerous diseases.
  • Childhood obesity is associated with an increased prevalence of sleep apnea syndrome.
  • Sleep apnea is a significant risk factor for serious health conditions like thrombosis and hypertension.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the potential causal relationship between childhood obesity and sleep apnea syndrome.
  • To provide research directions for future disease prevention and treatment strategies.
  • To confirm if genetic susceptibility to childhood obesity influences sleep apnea risk.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized GWAS-aggregated data from the IEU OpenGWAS project.
  • Employed Inverse-Variance Weighted (IVW) as the primary Mendelian Randomization method.
  • Screened single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) as instrumental variables with a P-value threshold of <5.0×10⁻⁶.
  • Performed leave-one-out analysis to ensure result robustness.

Main Results:

  • Confirmed a causal relationship between genetic susceptibility to childhood obesity and an increased risk of sleep apnea syndrome (OR=1.12, P=0.016).
  • Found no evidence of a causal relationship between genetic susceptibility to sleep apnea syndrome and childhood obesity (OR=1.50, P=0.083).
  • MR-Egger regression intercept near zero indicated minimal confounding factors.

Conclusions:

  • Established a causal link between genetic predisposition to childhood obesity and a higher risk of sleep apnea syndrome.
  • Recommended increased vigilance in physical examinations for individuals with a history of childhood obesity.
  • Emphasized early prevention and management of sleep apnea syndrome in at-risk populations.
Abstract

Keywords:
bidirectional two-sample Mendelian randomizationcausal relationshipchildhood obesitysingle nucleotide polymorphismssleep apnea syndrome

More Related Videos

Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study09:36

Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study

Published on: February 2, 2017

27.0K
Drug-Induced Sleep Endoscopy DISE with Target Controlled Infusion TCI and Bispectral Analysis in Obstructive Sleep Apnea07:54

Drug-Induced Sleep Endoscopy DISE with Target Controlled Infusion TCI and Bispectral Analysis in Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Published on: December 6, 2016

19.7K

Related Concept Videos

Sleep Apnea01:21

Sleep Apnea

Sleep apnea is a condition where breathing stops intermittently during sleep, often leading to significant health issues. Each episode can last from 10 to 20 seconds or more and is frequently accompanied by a brief arousal from sleep. This disturbance, largely unnoticed by the individual, can lead to severe daytime fatigue. Commonly, individuals seek help after being informed by their partners about loud snoring and noticeable breathing pauses during sleep.
The condition is more prevalent among...
130
Cause and Effect01:53

Cause and Effect

While variables are sometimes correlated because one does cause the other, it could also be that some other factor, a confounding variable, is actually causing the systematic movement in our variables of interest. For instance, as sales in ice cream increase, so does the overall rate of crime. Is it possible that indulging in your favorite flavor of ice cream could send you on a crime spree? Or, after committing crime do you think you might decide to treat yourself to a cone?
10.9K
Correlations02:20

Correlations

Correlation means that there is a relationship between two or more variables (such as ice cream consumption and crime), but this relationship does not necessarily imply cause and effect. When two variables are correlated, it simply means that as one variable changes, so does the other. We can measure correlation by calculating a statistic known as a correlation coefficient. A correlation coefficient is a number from -1 to +1 that indicates the strength and direction of the relationship between...
32.7K
Causality in Epidemiology01:21

Causality in Epidemiology

Causality or causation is a fundamental concept in epidemiology, vital for understanding the relationships between various factors and health outcomes. Despite its importance, there's no single, universally accepted definition of causality within the discipline. Drawing from a systematic review, causality in epidemiology encompasses several definitions, including production, necessary and sufficient, sufficient-component, counterfactual, and probabilistic models. Each has its strengths and...
323
Blind Procedures02:07

Blind Procedures

Ideally, the people who observe and record the children’s behavior are unaware of who was assigned to the experimental or control group, in order to control for experimenter bias. Experimenter bias refers to the possibility that a researcher’s expectations might skew the results of the study. Remember, conducting an experiment requires a lot of planning, and the people involved in the research project have a vested interest in supporting their hypotheses. If the observers knew which...
10.6K
Insufficient Sleep and Sleep Deprivation01:13

Insufficient Sleep and Sleep Deprivation

Insufficient sleep refers to not getting the recommended amount of sleep for optimal functioning, even if it's just slightly less than needed. Sleep insufficiency may occur due to lifestyle choices, such as staying up late for social events or work, resulting in routinely getting less sleep than required. For example, consistently sleeping 6 hours when the body needs 7-9 hours can lead to cumulative effects on health and well-being.
Sleep deprivation is a more severe form of sleep loss...
134