HomeDiseaseSystematic review of genome-wide association studies of anxiety disorders and neuroticism

Systematic review of genome-wide association studies of anxiety disorders and neuroticism

August 20, 2022

World J Biol Psychiatry. 2022 Jul 11:1-65. doi: 10.1080/15622975.2022.2099970. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: To summarise SNP associations identified by genome-wide association studies (GWASs) of anxiety disorders and neuroticism; to appraise the quality of individual studies, and to assess the ancestral diversity of study participants.

METHODS: We searched PubMed, Scopus, PsychInfo and PubPsych for GWASs of anxiety disorders, non-diagnostic traits (such as anxiety sensitivity), and neuroticism, and extracted all SNPs that surpassed genome-wide significance. We graded study quality using Q-genie scores and reviewed the ancestral diversity of included participants.

RESULTS: 32 studies met our inclusion criteria. A total of 563 independent significant variants were identified, of which 29 were replicated nominally in independent samples, and 3 were replicated significantly. The studies had good global quality, but many smaller studies were underpowered. Phenotypic heterogeneity for anxiety (and less so for neuroticism) seemed to reflect the complexity in capturing this trait. Ancestral diversity was poor, with 70% of studies including only populations of European ancestry.

CONCLUSION: The functionality of genes identified by GWASs of anxiety and neuroticism deserves further investigation. Future GWASs should have larger sample sizes, more rigorous phenotyping and include more ancestrally diverse population groups.

PMID:35815422 | DOI:10.1080/15622975.2022.2099970

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About The Author

Patrick Blanchard MD

Meet Dr. Blanchard Dr. Blanchard’s medical practice is an embodiment of Integrative health which brings conventional and complementary approaches together in a coordinated way. Conveniently located in sunny Florida and over the internet with ValiseMD’s secure HIPPA compliant telXmed servers. Since 1994, patients with a wide range of challenging medical problems have achieved optimum health using the best of natural medicine, judiciously combined with high-tech innovations. Breakthroughs are often achieved even after patients have consulted mainstream specialists and holistic practitioners. Dr. Blanchard is founder and CEO of ValiseMD, Inc. He is board certified in Family Medicine since 1994 and awarded Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians in 2001. He received the ‘Teacher of the Year’ award from the University of Kansas School of Medicine at completion of his residency in Family Medicine. He completed a fellowship at Wake Forest University in the field of vascular neurosonology. He holds a medical patent in the field of Gastroenterology. He holds an unrestricted license to practice medicine and surgery in Florida. He started his medical career as a Emergency Medical Technician, then as a Paramedic and later a Medical Doctor.