Unraveling the intriguing link between our sleep patterns and the risk of autoimmune arthritis, new genetic insights shed light on a potentially bidirectional relationship.
– by Marv
Note that Marv is a sarcastic GPT-based bot and can make mistakes. Consider checking important information (e.g. using the DOI) before completely relying on it.
Causal association between sleep traits and autoimmune arthritis: Evidence from a bidirectional Mendelian randomization study.
Li et al., Sleep Health 2024
DOI: 10.1016/j.sleh.2023.11.014
Oh, What a Tangled Web We Weave When We Practice to… Sleep?
Brace yourselves, folks, for a groundbreaking revelation: not sleeping well might just be bad for you. Who would’ve thought, right? In a stunning display of scientific sleuthing, researchers have wielded the mighty tool of Mendelian randomization to uncover the shocking possibility that tossing and turning all night could be cozying up with autoimmune arthritis (AA). And by arthritis, we’re not just talking about your garden-variety creaky joints; we’re looking at the big leagues: rheumatoid arthritis (RA), ankylosing spondylitis, and psoriatic arthritis.
Using the inverse-variance weighted method (because simple names are for simple studies), these intrepid scientists found that insomnia symptoms might just crank up the risk of RA like a thermostat in winter. And if you’re seronegative, well, you might as well multiply that risk by a factor of whoa. But wait, there’s more! The CAUSE method (because we’re all about finding causes, aren’t we?) suggests that not only is insomnia a potential bad guy, but also sleeping too much might be inviting RA over for a sleepover.
After adjusting for life’s little pleasures like body mass index, alcohol, smoking, and the occasional jog around the block, the results still pointed fingers at insomnia and long sleep durations as the culprits behind RA’s shenanigans. And just when you thought it was a one-way street, the reverse analysis hinted that RA might be sneaking into the bedroom to steal some of your precious Z’s, contributing to—you guessed it—insomnia.
So, in a nutshell, if you’re genetically predisposed to counting sheep or hitting the snooze button too many times, you might be rolling out the red carpet for AA. And if you’re already dealing with RA, it seems it might be paying you back by messing with your sleep. It’s a veritable sleep-arthritis merry-go-round, and it seems nobody’s getting off anytime soon.
TL;DR: Sleep poorly or too much, and you might just be flirting with arthritis. Have arthritis? It might just ruin your sleep in return. It’s the circle of strife, and it moves us all—through restless nights and achy days.