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. 2012;7(7):e40560.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0040560. Epub 2012 Jul 23.

Evidence of associations between cytokine genes and subjective reports of sleep disturbance in oncology patients and their family caregivers

Christine Miaskowski  1 , Bruce A Cooper, Anand Dhruva, Laura B Dunn, Dale J Langford, Janine K Cataldo, Christina R Baggott, John D Merriman, Marylin Dodd, Kathryn Lee, Claudia West, Steven M Paul, Bradley E Aouizerat
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Evidence of associations between cytokine genes and subjective reports of sleep disturbance in oncology patients and their family caregivers

Christine Miaskowski et al. PLoS One. 2012.

Abstract

The purposes of this study were to identify distinct latent classes of individuals based on subjective reports of sleep disturbance; to examine differences in demographic, clinical, and symptom characteristics between the latent classes; and to evaluate for variations in pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokine genes between the latent classes. Among 167 oncology outpatients with breast, prostate, lung, or brain cancer and 85 of their FCs, growth mixture modeling (GMM) was used to identify latent classes of individuals based on General Sleep Disturbance Scale (GSDS) obtained prior to, during, and for four months following completion of radiation therapy. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and haplotypes in candidate cytokine genes were interrogated for differences between the two latent classes. Multiple logistic regression was used to assess the effect of phenotypic and genotypic characteristics on GSDS group membership. Two latent classes were identified: lower sleep disturbance (88.5%) and higher sleep disturbance (11.5%). Participants who were younger and had a lower Karnofsky Performance status score were more likely to be in the higher sleep disturbance class. Variation in two cytokine genes (i.e., IL6, NFKB) predicted latent class membership. Evidence was found for latent classes with distinct sleep disturbance trajectories. Unique genetic markers in cytokine genes may partially explain the interindividual heterogeneity characterizing these trajectories.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Observed and estimated General Sleep Disturbance Scale (GSDS) trajectories for participants in each of the latent classes, as well as the mean GSDS scores for the total sample.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Panel A illustrates differences between the latent classes in the percentages of participants who were homozygous for the common allele (AA) or heterozygous or homozygous for the minor allele (AG+GG) for rs35610689 in interleukin 6 (IL6).
Panel B illustrates differences between the latent classes in the percentages of participants who were homozygous for the common allele (TT) or heterozygous or homozygous for the minor allele (TG+GG) for rs7897947 in nuclear factor kappa beta 2 (NFKB2).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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