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Sleep Genetics and Cognitive Changes over Time: The Moderating Effect of Age and the Role of Brain
Angeliki Tsapanou1, Seonjoo Lee2, Silvia Chapman1
1Cognitive Neuroscience Division, Department of Neurology, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA.
Background:
Sleep plays a crucial role in cognitive performance and cognitive changes in aging. In the current study, we investigated the role of sleep duration genetics in cognitive changes over time and the moderating effect of age.
Methods:
Participants were drawn from the Reference Abilities Neural Network and the Cognitive Reserve studies of Columbia University. Each participant underwent an evaluation of sleep function and an extensive neuropsychological assessment. Published GWAS summary statistics from a polygenic score for sleep duration (Sleep PGI) were used to derive Sleep PGI in our study. We examined whether this Sleep PGI is associated with cognitive changes over a 5-year follow-up and if age moderates this effect. Analysis was performed after first being adjusted for age group (young: 20-44; middle: 45-64; old: 65-80), sex, education, the first four principal components, intracranial volume (ICV), mean cortical thickness, and total gray matter volume. We included ICV, mean thickness, and total gray matter volumes as time-varying covariates. We further included interactions of time with age and the first four PCs.
Results:
A total of 96 white-only participants were included, aged 24 to 78 years old. In the fully adjusted model, age-specific analysis showed that in younger individuals, higher Sleep PGI was associated with lower rates of cognitive decline in speed of processing.
Conclusion:
Genetic variants associated with sleep duration significantly influence performance in speed of processing, with age playing a critical moderating role, over and above brain morphometry. A genetic predisposition for longer sleep duration can work as a protective factor against decline in the speed of processing in young adults.
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