Anorexia Associated With Being an Early Riser

TUESDAY, Jan. 9, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Anorexia nervosa is associated with a genetic predisposition to being an early riser, according to a study published online Jan. 4 in JAMA Network Open.

Hannah Wilcox, from Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and colleagues conducted a genetic association study examining the association between anorexia nervosa and circadian and sleep traits through Mendelian randomization (16,992 cases and 55,525 controls). They further tested associations between a polygenic risk score for anorexia nervosa and sleep disorders in a clinical biobank (47,082 participants).

The researchers found that genetic liability for anorexia nervosa was associated with a more morning chronotype (β = 0.039), and conversely, genetic liability for the morning chronotype was associated with an increased risk for anorexia nervosa (β = 0.178). In sensitivity and secondary analyses, associations were robust. There was an increased risk for anorexia nervosa with genetic liability for insomnia (β = 0.369), although sensitivity analyses indicated bias due to horizontal pleiotropy. There was an association between a polygenic risk score for anorexia nervosa with organic or persistent insomnia in the biobank (odds ratio, 1.10). For anorexia nervosa with other sleep traits, there were no other associations.

"Our findings implicate anorexia nervosa as a morning disorder in contrast to most other evening-based psychiatric diseases and support the association between anorexia nervosa and insomnia as seen in earlier studies," senior author Hassan S. Dashti, Ph.D., R.D., also from Massachusetts General Hospital, said in a statement.

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