Insomniacs face health nightmare

INSOMNIACS are at greater hereditary risk of depression, anxiety and coronary heart disease, research suggests.

The largest ever genetic study of insomnia, involving 1.3million people, found that genes behind sleeplessness can also spark depressive symptoms.

A smaller study involving the University of Exeter concurred, while also finding insomniacs may face up to double the risk of coronary heart disease than the general population. The major study, led by Vrije University and Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience in Amsterdam, found insomnia and depression are pre-programmed via genetic brain variations. The smaller study of 450,000 people, led by Massachusetts General Hospital, found 57 genetic regions linked to insomnia.

They proved the condition raises the risk of depression, but not vice versa.