Watson NF, Goldberg J, Arguelles LM, Buchwald D
To better understand the relationships of insomnia, sleepiness, and obesity, investigators conducted a classical twin study utilizing the community-based University of Washington Twin Registry. The dataset was comprised of 1042 monozygotic and 828 dizygotic twin pairs. Twins were, on average, 32 years old; 61% were women, and 19.5% were obese, defined as a body mass index > or = 28. Insomnia and sleepiness were endorsed by 19.3% and 3.7% of twins, respectively. Twin correlations were higher in monozygotic than dizygotic twins for insomnia (0.47 versus 0.15), sleepiness (0.37 versus 0.14), and obesity (0.82 versus 0.46). Heritability estimates were 57% for insomnia (p < .001; 95% confidence interval 47-63), 38% for sleepiness (p < .01; 95% confidence interval 16-46), and 73% for obesity (p < .001; 95% confidence interval 49-87). Multivariate genetic model fitting revealed that common additive genetic effects comprised 12.8% of the phenotypic correlation between insomnia and sleepiness (p < .01) and 10% of the phenotypic correlation between insomnia and obesity (p < .01). The phenotypic correlation between sleepiness and obesity was not due to common additive genetic effects. Insomnia, sleepiness, and obesity are under strong genetic influence. Common genetic effects were observed between insomnia and both sleepiness and obesity, suggesting shared genetic contributions to these phenomena.
Genetic and environmental influences on insomnia, daytime sleepiness, and obesity in twins. Sleep. 2006; 29(5):645-649.