Sleep disturbances, shift work, and epigenetic ageing in working-age adults: findings from the Young Finns study

Sleep disturbances are known to have adverse effects on health, but knowledge on the effect of sleep disturbances on epigenetic ageing is limited. We investigated (1) whether symptoms of insomnia, obstructive sleep apnoea, sleep deprivation, and circadian rhythm lateness are associated with epigenetic ageing, and (2) whether years spent in shift work moderates these associations.

We used the population-based Young Finns data (n = 1618). Epigenetic clocks such as AgeDev_Hannum, AgeDev_Horvath, AgeDev_Pheno, AgeDev_Grim, and DunedinPACE were utilized to measure epigenetic ageing. Sleep was evaluated using various validated self-report questionnaires. Covariates included sex, array type, smoking status, health behaviours, socioeconomic factors, and cardiovascular health factors.

Among the various sleep measures, obstructive sleep apnoea symptoms were most consistently linked to accelerated epigenetic ageing, as measured by AgeDev_Grim and DunedinPACE. Insomnia, sleep deprivation, and years spent in shift work were not associated with epigenetic ageing after adjusting for health-related or socioeconomic covariates. Additionally, we found interactions between years spent in shift work and sleep disturbances when accounting for epigenetic ageing. Among those with little to no history of shift work, both insomnia and sleep deprivation were associated with more accelerated epigenetic ageing in AgeDev_Grim when compared to long-term shift workers. However, the pace of epigenetic ageing (measured with DunedinPACE) appears to be higher in those with both sleep deprivation and longer history of shift work.

Among various sleep measures, symptoms of obstructive sleep apnoea appear to be most consistently associated with accelerated epigenetic ageing even after adjusting for various health-related and socioeconomic factors. Shift work seems to have a crucial role in the relationship between sleep disturbances and epigenetic ageing in working-age adults.