Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 17, 2026

A Machine Learning Approach to Design an Efficient Selective Screening of Mild Cognitive Impairment
Published on: January 11, 2020
Sleep and dementia: Assessing established dementia-related factors using multivariable Mendelian randomization
Yunyun Guo1,2, Rui Wang3,4,5, Shireen Sindi1,3
1The Ageing Epidemiology (AGE) Research Unit, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, London, UK.
Introduction:
The relationship between sleep, other dementia risk factors, and dementia remains unclear. We aim to explore these associations using a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) approach.
Methods:
We identified genetic instrumental variables for sleep characteristics from the UK Biobank and obtained summary-level genetic association data for dementia outcomes, including Alzheimer's disease (AD), from the FinnGen consortium. We applied inverse-variance weighted (IVW) MR to examine the associations between sleep characteristics and dementia outcomes. Multivariable MR was subsequently employed to assess the influence of additional dementia-relevant factors on these relationships.
Results:
Genetic variants for insomnia, among the sleep characteristics, were associated with elevated AD risk (odds ratio [OR]IVW = 3.02, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.28-7.10, p = 0.01). Yet this association was largely attenuated after adjusting for education and low-density lipoprotein (LDL).
Discussion:
These findings indicate that the association between insomnia and AD is complex and indirect, potentially operating through social-behavioral factors (education) and biological pathways such as LDL cholesterol.
Related Concept Videos
Dementia l: Introduction
Dementia
The progression of dementia is generally gradual.
Alzheimer Disease l: Introduction
Substance Use Disorders Affecting Sleep
Understanding the concepts of physical dependence,...
Strategies for Assessing and Addressing Confounding
Confounding can be addressed at both the design phase of a study and through analytical methods after data...
