Associations between REV-ERBα, sleep duration and body mass index in European adolescents

Abstract

Background/objective: Although the REV-ERBα is considered an important regulator of both clock function and metabolism, its relationship with sleep duration and obesity is less clear. The objective of this study was to examine the association between the REV-ERBα clock gene and two outcomes - sleep duration and body mass index (BMI) - in European adolescents.

Methods: A sample of 831 adolescents (392 boys) aged 11.5-18.8 years from 10 European centers was used. The independent variables were REV-ERBα rs2071427 and rs2071570 SNPs, and their respective haplotypes. The outcomes were sleep duration and BMI.

Results: In girls, no significant association were found between rs2071427 or rs2071570 and the studied outcomes (p ≥ 0.43). In boys, however, significant associations were found between rs2071570 and sleep duration (β: -0.32 h/day for T minor allele carriers; p = 0.0017), and rs2071427 and BMI (β: +0.72 kg/m² for A minor allele carriers; p = 0.016). In the haplotype analysis, the TA haplotype (carrying the two minor alleles) was associated with both lower sleep duration (Δ = -0.38 h/day; p = 0.05) and higher BMI (Δ = +1.41 kg/m²; p = 0.018) in boys, when compared with the common CC haplotype.

Conclusions: The REV-ERBα rs2071427 and rs2071570 were associated with both sleep duration and BMI in boys. These findings confirmed the relevance of the REV-ERBα gene in human obesity, primarily in males, and also suggested that it has a potential role in affecting sleep duration.

Keywords: Obesity; REV-ERBα clock gene; Sleep duration; Youth.