Causal Relationship Between Sleep Characteristics and Alopecia Areata and Other Non-Scarring Alopecia: A Two-Sample Bidirectional Mendelian Randomization Analysis

This study explored the potential causal relationships between sleep characteristics and different types of alopecia using a bidirectional Mendelian randomization analysis. The research involved a large sample size ranging from 209 to 452,633 participants, utilizing genome-wide association studies (GWAS) data. The analysis suggested possible causal links between insomnia and a higher risk of alopecia areata, morningness and alopecia areata, and reduced sleep duration with non-scarring alopecia. However, these associations did not hold after correcting for multiple testing, indicating that the results should be interpreted with caution. The study found no evidence of horizontal pleiotropy, but heterogeneity was noted in the analysis of scarring alopecia and daytime napping. The authors recommend further research to explore the mechanisms and validate these findings across different populations.