A Mendelian randomization study revealed a causal link between napping and deep vein thrombosis (DVT)

Abstract

Background: Numerous individuals opt for napping to achieve adequate rest, and several studies have linked napping to various health conditions. Consequently, we aimed to investigate the potential effect of napping on the development of deep vein thrombosis (DVT).

Methods: We used the publicly available summary statistics data sets of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) meta-analyses for napping in individuals included in the UK Biobank as the exposure and a GWAS for DVT from the individuals included in the FinnGen Biobank as the outcome. The two-sample MR research approach was utilized to explore the causative link between napping and DVT. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) data strongly related to napping were found and used as instrumental factors. Inverse variance weighting (IVW), weighted median and MR-Egger regression, and weighted mode approaches were four statistical techniques.

Results: There were 86 SNPs in all that were discovered to be strongly related to napping (P < 5 × 10^-8, linkage disequilibrium r² < 0.1). Consistent association between napping and DVT (IVW: odds ratio (OR) 0.508, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.280-0.921; MR-Egger regression: OR 0.988, 95% CI 0.118-8.303; weighted median estimates: OR 0.419, 95% CI 0.181-0.974; weighted mode: OR 0.442, 95% CI 0.080-2.427) suggested that napping correlated with decreased risk of DVT. There was no evidence that genetic pleiotropy affected the link between napping and DVT (MR-Egger intercept - 6.7 × 10^-3; P = 0.525).

Conclusion: The results of the Mendelian randomization study suggested a potential causal relationship between napping and a reduced incidence of DVT.

Keywords: DVT; Mendelian randomization; Napping; SNPs.