Polygenic risk for anxiety influences anxiety comorbidity and suicidal behavior in bipolar disorder

Bipolar disorder is often comorbid with anxiety, which is itself associated with poorer clinical outcomes, including suicide. A better etiologic understanding of this comorbidity could inform diagnosis and treatment. The present study aims to test whether comorbid anxiety in bipolar disorder reflects shared genetic risk factors. We also sought to assess the contribution of genetic risk for anxiety to suicide attempts in bipolar disorder. Polygenic risk scores (PRS) were calculated from published genome-wide association studies of samples of controls and cases with anxiety (n = 83,566) or bipolar disorder (n = 51,710), then scored in independent target samples (totaln = 3369) of individuals with bipolar disorder who reported or denied lifetime anxiety disorders or suicidal attempts in research interviews. Participants were recruited from clinical and nonclinical settings and genotyped for common genetic variants. The results show that polygenic risk for anxiety was associated with comorbid anxiety disorders and suicide attempts in bipolar disorder, while polygenic risk for bipolar disorder was not associated with any of these variables. Our findings point out that comorbid anxiety disorders in bipolar disorder reflect a dual burden of bipolar and anxiety-related genes; the latter may also contribute to suicide attempts. Clinical care that recognizes and addresses this dual burden may help improve outcomes in people living with comorbid bipolar and anxiety disorders.

Zhu, K. (author)
Purves, K. L. (author)
Song, C. (author)
Ahn, K. (author)
Hou, L. P. (author)
Akula, N. (author)
Kassem, L. (author)
Bergen, S. E.Karolinska Institutet (author)
Landén, Mikael,1966Karolinska Institutet,Gothenburg University,Göteborgs universitet,Institutionen för neurovetenskap och fysiologi, sektionen för psykiatri och neurokemi,Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry(Swepub:gu)xlandt (author)
Veras, A. B. (author)
Nardi, A. E. (author)
McMahon, F. J. (author)
Karolinska InstitutetInstitutionen för neurovetenskap och fysiologi, sektionen för psykiatri och neurokemi (creator_code:org_t)

In:Translational Psychiatry: Springer Science and Business Media LLC10:12158-3188

By the author/editor: Lopes, F. L.; Zhu, K.; Purves, K. L.; Song, C.; Ahn, K.; Hou, L. P.; show more...; Akula, N.; Kassem, L.; Bergen, S. E.; Landén, Mikael, ...; Veras, A. B.; Nardi, A. E.; McMahon, F. J.; show less...

About the subject

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES: MEDICAL AND HEAL ...; and Clinical Medicin ...; and Psychiatry

Kungliga biblioteket hanterar dina personuppgifter i enlighet med EU:s dataskyddsförordning (2018), GDPR. Läs mer om hur det funkar här.
Så här hanterar KB dina uppgifter vid användning av denna tjänst.