Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41922918›Full record

ArticleNature communications2026

Genetic architecture of sleep in a genome wide association study of device measured sleep traits.

Laura Portas, Hang Yuan, Lina Cai, Karl Smith-Byrne, Stefan van Duijvenboden, Simon D Kyle, David Ray, Joanna Mm Howson, Aiden Doherty

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Emerging genetics of sleep and circadian disorders.Current opinion in pediatrics · 2026
    Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Laura PortasBig Data Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK. laura.portas@ocdem.ox.ac.uk.ORCID 0000-0003-1789-1893
Hang YuanBig Data Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.ORCID 0000-0001-5944-1925
Lina CaiHuman Genetics Centre of Excellence, Novo Nordisk Research Centre, Oxford, UK.
Karl Smith-ByrneCancer Epidemiology Unit, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-1932-7463
Stefan van DuijvenbodenBig Data Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Simon D KyleSir Jules Thorn Sleep and Circadian Neuroscience Institute, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
David RayNIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-4739-6773
Joanna Mm HowsonHuman Genetics Centre of Excellence, Novo Nordisk Research Centre, Oxford, UK.ORCID 0000-0001-7618-0050
Aiden DohertyBig Data Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Sleep is essential for health and regulated by genetic and environmental factors. We perform genome-wide association studies of device-measured sleep duration, efficiency, and accelerometer-derived rapid eye movement (REM) and non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep in 80,013 UK Biobank participants. We identify 20 autosomal loci, 12 of which have not been previously reported, including genome-wide significant associations for REM and NREM sleep duration. MEIS1 shows strong opposing effects on REM and NREM durations and is intolerant to loss-of-function mutations, suggesting an essential role in the regulation of REM/NREM sleep balance. Functional enrichment analysis identifies statistically significant pathways related to chromatin remodelling, lipid metabolism, and metal ion homeostasis while tissue enrichment analysis highlights significant signals in the hypothalamus and frontal cortex. Sex-stratified analyses identify distinct loci, including FOXP2 and NRXN3 in females and LRP1B, NPBWR2, and PABPC4 in males. Mendelian randomization supports associations between shorter sleep duration and higher cardiometabolic risk. These findings highlight sex- and phase-specific regulators of human sleep architecture, providing biological insights and potential therapeutic targets.

Indexed as

Genome-Wide Association StudySleepAgedFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedMyeloid Ecotropic Viral Integration Site 1 ProteinPolymorphism, Single NucleotideSleep DurationSleep, REMSleep, Slow-WaveMEIS1 protein, humanMyeloid Ecotropic Viral Integration Site 1 Protein

Identifiers

PMID41922918
PMCPMC13212655

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.