BACKGROUND: Sleep duration is attracting increasing attention in relation to chronic disease risk, but few large-scale studies have investigated the determinants of sleep characteristics in early life. In this study we used data from a large, population-based twin study to examine genetic and environmental influences on sleep duration and sleep difficulties in infancy. METHODS: Participants were 1931 pairs of young twins (3862 children) from the Gemini twin birth cohort. Sleep patterns were assessed at 15 months by using a modification of the Brief Infant Sleep Questionnaire completed by parents. Outcomes included nighttime and daytime sleep duration and frequency of night waking. RESULTS: Twin analyses showed that nighttime sleep duration was predominantly influenced by the shared environment (66%, confidence interval [CI] 63%-70%) with a modest genetic effect (26%, CI 22%-30%). A similar pattern was observed for daytime nap duration (shared environment: 57%, CI 53%-62%; genetic effect: 37%, CI 33%-41%) and sleep disturbance (shared environment: 55%, 44%-64%) with a genetic effect of 40% (30%-51%). These estimates were similar for boys and girls. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate an important contribution of the shared family environment as well as genes to children's sleep behavior. There is a need for research to identify specific environmental determinants that could provide targets for interventions to improve sleep quality.
BACKGROUND: Sleep duration is attracting increasing attention in relation to chronic disease risk, but few large-scale studies have investigated the determinants of sleep characteristics in early life. In this study we used data from a large, population-based twin study to examine genetic and environmental influences on sleep duration and sleep difficulties in infancy. METHODS:Participants were 1931 pairs of young twins (3862 children) from the Gemini twin birth cohort. Sleep patterns were assessed at 15 months by using a modification of the Brief Infant Sleep Questionnaire completed by parents. Outcomes included nighttime and daytime sleep duration and frequency of night waking. RESULTS: Twin analyses showed that nighttime sleep duration was predominantly influenced by the shared environment (66%, confidence interval [CI] 63%-70%) with a modest genetic effect (26%, CI 22%-30%). A similar pattern was observed for daytime nap duration (shared environment: 57%, CI 53%-62%; genetic effect: 37%, CI 33%-41%) and sleep disturbance (shared environment: 55%, 44%-64%) with a genetic effect of 40% (30%-51%). These estimates were similar for boys and girls. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate an important contribution of the shared family environment as well as genes to children's sleep behavior. There is a need for research to identify specific environmental determinants that could provide targets for interventions to improve sleep quality.
Authors: Margo R Genderson; Brinda K Rana; Matthew S Panizzon; Michael D Grant; Rosemary Toomey; Kristen C Jacobson; Hong Xian; Alice Cronin-Golomb; Carol E Franz; William S Kremen; Michael J Lyons Journal: J Sleep Res Date: 2013-03-20 Impact factor: 3.981
Authors: Jiaxiao Yu; Huili Jin; Li Wen; Wenjin Zhang; Richard Saffery; Chao Tong; Hongbo Qi; Mark D Kilby; Philip N Baker Journal: J Clin Sleep Med Date: 2021-11-01 Impact factor: 4.062
Authors: Marcella Marinelli; Irene Pappa; Mariona Bustamante; Carolina Bonilla; Anna Suarez; Carla M Tiesler; Natalia Vilor-Tejedor; Mohammad Hadi Zafarmand; Mar Alvarez-Pedrerol; Sture Andersson; Marian J Bakermans-Kranenburg; Xavier Estivill; David M Evans; Claudia Flexeder; Joan Forns; Juan R Gonzalez; Monica Guxens; Anke Huss; Marinus H van IJzendoorn; Vincent W V Jaddoe; Jordi Julvez; Jari Lahti; Mónica López-Vicente; Maria-Jose Lopez-Espinosa; Judith Manz; Viara R Mileva-Seitz; Markus Perola; Anu-Katriina Pesonen; Fernando Rivadeneira; Perttu P Salo; Shayan Shahand; Holger Schulz; Marie Standl; Elisabeth Thiering; Nicholas J Timpson; Maties Torrent; André G Uitterlinden; George Davey Smith; Marisa Estarlich; Joachim Heinrich; Katri Räikkönen; Tanja G M Vrijkotte; Henning Tiemeier; Jordi Sunyer Journal: Sleep Date: 2016-10-01 Impact factor: 5.849