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Impulsivity and genetic variants in DRD2 and ANKK1 moderate longitudinal associations between sleep problems and overweight from ages 5 to 11

International Journal of Obesity volume 38, pages 404–410 (2014)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

Short sleep duration and sleep problems increase risks of overweight and weight gain. Few previous studies have examined sleep and weight repeatedly over development. This study examined the associations between yearly reports of sleep problems and weight status from ages 5 to 11. Although, previous studies have shown that inter-individual differences moderate the effect of short sleep duration on weight, it is not known whether inter-individual differences also moderate the effect of sleep problems on weight. We tested how the longitudinal associations between sleep problems and weight status were moderated by impulsivity and genetic variants in DRD2 and ANKK1.

DESIGN:

Seven-year longitudinal study.

PARTICIPANTS:

A total of 567 children from the Child Development Project for the analysis with impulsivity and 363 for the analysis with genetic variants.

MEASUREMENTS and RESULTS:

Sleep problems and weight status were measured by mothers’ reports yearly. Impulsivity was measured by teachers’ reports yearly. Six single-nucleotide polymorphisms located in DRD2 and ANKK1 were genotyped. Data were analyzed using multilevel modeling. Higher average levels of sleep deprivation across years were associated with greater increases in overweight (P=0.0024). Sleep problems and overweight were associated at both within-person across time (P<0.0001) and between-person levels (P<0.0001). Impulsivity and two polymorphisms, rs1799978 and rs4245149 in DRD2, moderated the association between sleep problems and overweight; the association was stronger in children who were more impulsive (P=0.0022), in G allele carriers for rs1799978 (P=0.0007) and in A allele carriers for rs4245149 (P=0.0002).

CONCLUSIONS:

This study provided incremental evidence for the influence of sleep problems on weight. Findings of DRD2, ANKK1 and impulsivity are novel; they suggest that reward sensitivity and self-regulatory abilities might modulate the influences of sleep on weight gain. The analysis of polymorphisms was restricted to European Americans and hence the results might not generalize to other populations.

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Acknowledgements

The Child Development Project has been funded by National Institute of Mental Health Grants MH42498, MH56961, MH57024 and MH57095; Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Grant HD30572; and National Institute on Drug Abuse Grant DA016903. We thank John Budde and Dr Alison Goate for their contribution to this project through DNA extraction and genotyping of the initial set of genetic markers. We also thank Dr Leslie Rutkowski and Ms Stephanie Dickenson for their advice on statistical analysis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA

    T W S Chan & J E Bates

  2. Social Science Research Institute and Center for Child and Family Policy, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA,

    J E Lansford & K A Dodge

  3. Department of Human Development and Family Studies, College of Human Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, USA,

    G S Pettit

  4. Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA,

    D M Dick & S J Latendresse

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Correspondence to T W S Chan.

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Chan, T., Bates, J., Lansford, J. et al. Impulsivity and genetic variants in DRD2 and ANKK1 moderate longitudinal associations between sleep problems and overweight from ages 5 to 11. Int J Obes 38, 404–410 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2013.123

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