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Researchers have identified specific genes that may trigger the development of sleep problems, and have also demonstrated a genetic link between insomnia and psychiatric disorders such as depression, or physical conditions such as type 2 diabetes. The effects of insomnia on health can be debilitating and place a strain on the healthcare system. Chronic insomnia is related to long-term health issues like heart disease and type 2 diabetes, as well as mental illness such as
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and suicide.
Past studies have shown that various sleep-related traits, including insomnia, are heritable. Based on these findings, researchers have started to look into the specific gene variants involved. In the study, Stein’s research team conducted genome-wide association studies (GWAS). DNA samples obtained from more than 33,000 soldiers participating in the Army Study To Assess Risk and Resilience in Servicemembers (STARRS) were analyzed. Data from soldiers of European, African and Latino descent were grouped separately as part of efforts to identify the influence of specific ancestral lineages.
Stein and his colleagues also compared their results with those of two recent studies that used data from the UK Biobank. The study confirms that insomnia has a partially heritable basis. The researchers also found a strong genetic link between insomnia and type 2 diabetes. Among participants of European descent, there was additionally a genetic tie between sleeplessness and major depression.
The genetic correlation between insomnia disorder and other psychiatric disorders, such as major depression, and physical disorders such as type 2 diabetes suggests a shared genetic diathesis for these commonly co-occurring phenotypes. Insomnia was linked to the occurrence of specific variants on chromosome 7.
In people of European descent, there were also differences on chromosome 9. The variant on chromosome 7, for instance, is close to AUTS2, a gene that has been linked to alcohol consumption, as well as others that relate to brain development and sleep-related electric signaling. Some of these variants rest among locations and pathways known to be related to sleep and circadian rhythms. This kind of insomnia associated loci may contribute to the genetic risk underlying a range of health conditions including psychiatric disorders and metabolic disease.
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