Oestrogen receptor α gene polymorphisms, insomnia, and cognitive functions in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women in non-manual employment

Iwona Bojar; Dorota Raczkiewicz; Mariusz Gujski; Ewa Humeniuk; Artur Wdowiak; Alfred Owoc; Jarosław Pinkas

doi:10.5114/aoms.2020.94977

Oestrogen receptor α gene polymorphisms, insomnia, and cognitive functions in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women in non-manual employment

Arch Med Sci. 2020 May 7;18(5):1318-1328. doi: 10.5114/aoms.2020.94977. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Iwona Bojar¹, Dorota Raczkiewicz², Mariusz Gujski³, Ewa Humeniuk⁴, Artur Wdowiak⁵, Alfred Owoc⁶, Jarosław Pinkas⁷

Affiliations

¹ Department of Women's Health, Institute of Rural Health, Lublin, Poland.
² Institute of Statistics and Demography, Collegium of Economic Analyses, SGH Warsaw School of Economics, Warsaw, Poland.
³ Department of Prevention of Environmental Hazards and Allergology, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland.
⁴ Department of Pathology and Rehabilitation of Speech, Medical University of Lublin, Lublin, Poland.
⁵ Diagnostic Techniques Unit, Medical University of Lublin, Lublin, Poland.
⁶ Polish Society of Social Medicine and Public Health, Poland.
⁷ School of Public Health, Center of Postgraduate Medical Education, Warsaw, Poland.

Abstract

Introduction: A potential way to explain the relationships between sleep disorders and cognitive disorders during menopausal transition is the identification of genetic markers related to changes in cognitive functions, as well as changes in quality of sleep during menopause. The objective was an analysis of the relationship between sleep disorders and cognitive disorders, according to the possessed oestrogen receptor α gene polymorphism (ESR1) in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women.

Material and methods: The study included 300 women aged 44-66 years, employed as non-manual workers. A computerised battery of the Central Nervous System Vital Signs (CNS VS) test was used to diagnose cognitive functions. ESR1 polymorphisms were genotyped using PCR-RFLP methods. The Athens Insomnia Scale was used to diagnose sleep disorders.

Results: More severe insomnia was related to worse complex memory, visual memory, and simple attention in the total group of examined women. More severe insomnia was related to worse simple attention in women with genotypes AG Xba I or TC Pvu II ESR1, in perimenopausal women with genotypes AG Xba I or TC Pvu II ESR1. During the postmenopausal period, the severity of insomnia negatively correlated with visual memory in carriers of Pvu II TT, and with reaction time in carriers of Xba I AA.

Conclusions: The results indicate an important role of oestrogen receptor α gene polymorphism in the modulation of the effect of insomnia on cognitive functions in peri- and postmenopausal women.

Keywords: cognitive functions; insomnia; menopause; oestrogen receptor α gene polymorphism.