Objective: Disrupted sleep circadian rhythms have been linked to increased risks of dementia and mental health, but their associations with other brain disorders were underestimated.
Background: The number of people with brain disorders is on the rise worldwide, and the social and economic burden of these disorders is growing exponentially. Most brain disorders are irreversible and incurable, thus the development of an effective hierarchy of preventive interventions is highly required. Since sleep accounts for one-third of the human lifespan, improving our understanding of the potential predictive effects of sleep circadian rhythms on brain disorders may be of great value.
Method: Using UK 10 Biobank data, sleep circadian rhythms, which compromise shift work and sleep quality, were 11 assessed. The associations of disrupted circadian rhythms with seven brain disorders, including 12 stroke, dementia, Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, migraine, major depressive disorder (MDD) 13 and anxiety disorder, as well as brain structure, were analyzed using multivariate Cox14 proportional hazards regression models.
Results: We found that poor sleep quality and its items, 15 including sleep duration, chronotype, insomnia, snoring, and daytime sleepiness, were related 16 to all seven brain disorders, while shift work was related to stroke, dementia, and MDD. 17 Specific brain areas, most often the frontal lobe, were shown to be associated with sleep 18 circadian rhythms. The interactive analysis revealed that people with physical frailty are 19 potentially at risk, and physical activity and C-reaction protein levels are promising 20 intervention factors.
Conclusion: This study provides evidence that disrupted sleep circadian rhythms 21 impact brain health and identifies potential underlying mechanisms, risk populations and 22 possible interventions for brain disorders.
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To cite this abstract in AMA style:
Y. Li, J. Liu. Disrupted Sleep Circadian Rhythms and Brain Disorders: A Large Prospective Cohort Study [abstract]. Mov Disord. 2024; 39 (suppl 1). https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/disrupted-sleep-circadian-rhythms-and-brain-disorders-a-large-prospective-cohort-study/. Accessed June 15, 2025.« Back to 2024 International Congress
MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/disrupted-sleep-circadian-rhythms-and-brain-disorders-a-large-prospective-cohort-study/