Ticking time bomb? High time for chronobiological research

Lewis, Philip; Foster, Russell G.; Erren, Thomas C.

doi:10.15252/embr.201846073

Cited by 14 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Even if this difference is a few hours, the push or pull on phase of circadian rhythms may result in transient periods of circadian misalignment and, thus, only a few days per week of circadian alignment. This could amount to years of misalignment over a person's working life [25]. This may be taken further as sleep deficiency is a problem more generally [26,27].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The riddle of shiftwork and disturbed chronobiology: a case study of landmark smoking data demonstrates fallacies of not considering the ubiquity of an exposure

Erren¹,

Lewis²,

Morfeld³

2020

J Occup Med Toxicol

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Background: Failing to integrate all sources of a ubiquitous hazard candidate may explain inconsistent and/or null, and overall misleading, results in epidemiological studies such as those related to shift-work. Methods: We explore this rationale on the assumption that Doll and Hill had confined their 1950 landmark study to smoking at workplaces alone. We assess how non-differential, or how differential, underestimation of exposure could have biased computed risks. Results: Systematically unappreciated exposures at play could have led to substantial information bias. Beyond affecting the magnitude of risks, not even the direction of risk distortion would have been predictable. Conclusions: Disturbed chronobiology research should consider cumulative doses from all walks of life. This is a conditio sine qua non to avoid potentially biased and uninterpretable risk estimates when assessing effects of a ubiquitous hazard candidate.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The riddle of shiftwork and disturbed chronobiology: a case study of landmark smoking data demonstrates fallacies of not considering the ubiquity of an exposure

Erren¹,

Lewis²,

Morfeld³

2020

J Occup Med Toxicol

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“…We expected an effect of adjusting for night and shiftwork covariates as later life circadian disruptive stimuli would affect estimates of association with DM, but this was not observed. However, they may not necessarily be more disruptive to the CTS than other disruptions experienced by non-shiftworkers and in non-work life (Erren et al 2020;Lewis et al 2018a). Furthermore, the 'healthy volunteer bias' in the UK Biobank (discussed in the Methods) may reduce shiftwork-associated circadian disruptive habits, such as eating or exercising at circadian disruptive times, since both of these factors may also be zeitgebers for the human CTS (Lewis et al 2018b(Lewis et al , 2020b.…”

Section: Diabetes Mellitusmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perinatal photoperiod associations with diabetes and chronotype prevalence in a cross-sectional study of the UK Biobank

Lewis

Morfeld

Mohren

et al. 2021

Chronobiology International

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Experimental studies indicate that perinatal light may imprint the circadian timing system, subsequently affect later life physiology, and possibly disease risk. We combined individual time-of-year of birth and corresponding latitude to determine perinatal photoperiod characteristics for UK Biobank participants (n = 460,761) and tested for associations with diabetes mellitus (DM, the pathophysiology of which is often linked with circadian disruption) and chronotype (a trait co-governed by the circadian timing system) prevalence in a cross-sectional investigation. The UK Biobank is a population-based cohort with a 5.5% participation rate (~9.2 million individuals were invited into the study between 2006 and 2010). We defined three groups based on photoperiods experienced in the 3 rd trimester of pregnancy and first 3 months post-birth time windows: (1) those who exclusively experienced non-extreme photoperiods (NEP, 8-16 hours), (2) those who experienced at least one extreme short photoperiod (ESP, <8 hours), and those who experienced at least one extreme long photoperiod (ELP, >16 hours). For individuals in each group and time window, mean daily photoperiod and relative photoperiod range (relative = relative to the mean) were calculated. Inclusion of relative photoperiod range adds dispersion information (relative change of photoperiods) to statistical models. Multivariable and multinomial logistic regression analyses were used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Increased 3 rd trimester relative range was associated with decreased odds of DM (OR 0.63 95%CI 0.49-0.81) in the NEP group, but increased odds of DM were detected for the ESP (OR 1.34, 95%CI 0.96-1.86) and ELP groups (OR 1.32, 95%CI 0.78-2.22). Increased 3 rd trimester relative range was associated with increased odds of being a "Morning" (OR 1.20, 95%CI 1.02-1.41) or "Evening" (OR 1.43, 95%CI 1.21-1.69) chronotype in the NEP group, but this was not observed in other groups. Additionally, different effect sizes and directions of association with DM were observed in different strata of ethnicity and chronotype and statistically significant odds ratio modifications were detected. In conclusion, perinatal photoperiod associations with DM and chronotype prevalence are detected in the UK Biobank. NEP, ESP, and ELP differences are speculated to be caused by a non-linear dose-response to photoperiods from 0-24 hours or by confounding due to artificial light playing a dominant role in ESP individuals and seeking darkness in ELP individuals. Ethnicity and chronotype may be important effect modifiers of perinatal photoperiod associations with DM. Potential for selection biases due to low UK Biobank participation rate disallows stating conclusions too strongly. Overall, further studies are needed to confirm different perinatal photoperiod associations with DM and chronotype. Further investigations into the hypothesized imprinting mechanism are also warranted.

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“…Yet, this approach leads to health questions beyond direct virus-human-interactions. One key question comes from chronobiology: "How doeswhen being confined to homes -reduced daylight exposure from outdoor activities and lost temporal organization usually provided by time cues of workplaces and schools affect the circadian timing system (CTS; the internal 24 h clock) and, consequently, health of individuals Lewis et al 2018a)?" Such NEs also bring ethical considerations Dawson and Sim 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID-19 and “natural” experiments arising from physical distancing: a hypothetical case study from chronobiology

Erren

Lewis

Shaw

2020

Chronobiology International

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With countless "natural" experiments triggered by the COVID-19-associated physical distancing, one key question comes from chronobiology: "When confined to homes, how does the reduced exposure to natural daylight arising from the interruption of usual outdoor activities plus lost temporal organization ordinarily provided from workplaces and schools affect the circadian timing system (the internal 24 h clock) and, consequently, health of children and adults of all ages?" Herein, we discuss some ethical and scientific facets of exploring such natural experiments by offering a hypothetical case study of circadian biology.

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Ticking time bomb? High time for chronobiological research

Abstract: The 2017 Nobel prize for elucidating the mechanisms of chronobiology highlights the urgent need to better understand our internal clockwork and its effects on health and disease.

Cited by 14 publications

References 11 publications

The riddle of shiftwork and disturbed chronobiology: a case study of landmark smoking data demonstrates fallacies of not considering the ubiquity of an exposure

The riddle of shiftwork and disturbed chronobiology: a case study of landmark smoking data demonstrates fallacies of not considering the ubiquity of an exposure

Perinatal photoperiod associations with diabetes and chronotype prevalence in a cross-sectional study of the UK Biobank

COVID-19 and “natural” experiments arising from physical distancing: a hypothetical case study from chronobiology

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