0023 Effects of Genotype and Trauma Exposure on Common Subjective Sleep Measures in Healthy Young Adults. (12th April 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Lind, Mackenzie J; Khan, Hassen; Chowdari, Kodavali; Nimgaonkar, Vishwajit L; Germain, Anne
• Is Part Of: Sleep. Volume 42(2019)Supplement 1
• Page Start: A9
• Page End: A9
• Publication Date: 2019-04-12
• Subjects: Sleep -- Physiological aspects -- Periodicals; Sleep disorders -- Periodicals; Sommeil -- Aspect physiologique -- Périodiques; Sommeil, Troubles du -- Périodiques; Sleep disorders; Sleep -- Physiological aspects; Sleep -- physiological aspects; Sleep Wake Disorders; Psychophysiology; Electronic journals; Periodicals; 616.8498
• DOI: 10.1093/sleep/zsz067.022
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0161-8105

Abstract

Abstract: Introduction: While poor sleep is common and both genetic (G) and environmental (E; e.g., trauma exposure) factors influence its etiology, there has been minimal success in identifying specific genetic contributions. Examination of individual differences in the sleep quality of healthy individuals represents an approach that can provide insight into both risk and resilience for poor sleep, which in turn may influence the development of other physical and mental health conditions. Methods: Participants with available genetic data (N=168, 54% female, 71% European ancestry, mean age 23.8) were taken from an existing study investigating the effect of sleep loss on neural responses to threat and reward cues. Individuals with current psychiatric or sleep disorders were excluded. Sleep measures included sleep quality (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index [PSQI]) and daytime sleepiness (Epworth Sleepiness Scale [ESS]). Trauma exposure was assessed utilizing a variant of the Trauma History Questionnaire. Hierarchical linear regression analyses were conducted to examine main genetic and GxE effects on sleep as follows, using a Bonferroni-adjusted p =0.025: demographics (Step 1), genotype ( BDNF [Val/Met], SLC6A4 [HTTLPR], or PER3 [VNTR]; Step 2), GxE and main effects of childhood trauma exposure (Step 3), and adult trauma exposure (Step 4). Results: Regression analyses demonstrated a significant main effect of BDNF genotype (Val/Val vs. Met carriers) on PSQI global score (β=-0.20, p =0.02; model R 2 =5.4%), in addition to a significant GxE effect with childhood trauma (β=0.53, p =0.00; model R 2 =11.1%). Results were robust to inclusion of adult trauma and sensitivity analyses restricting to European ancestry. In contrast, there were no significant main genetic or GxE effects of SLC6A4 or PER3 polymorphisms on PSQI global scores, and no significant associations between any polymorphism and ESS scores. Conclusion: These results add to the small body of literature implicating BDNF genetic variation in sleep phenotypes. We provide evidence for a role of BDNF in inter-individual variation in sleep quality, demonstrating that while the Val/Val genotype is associated with better sleep quality, its interaction with childhood trauma exposure results in worse subjective sleep. Support (If Any): MOMRP LOG#11293006 (Germain)