Summary: Researchers have found that schizophrenia shares genetic risk factors with bipolar disorder and major depression, and these vulnerabilities are greater in men than in women. The new study analyzed more than 3,000 individuals and found that polygenic scores for various psychiatric disorders contributed to the risk of psychosis differently by gender.
These results highlight the importance of considering gender differences when studying the genetic basis of mental disorders. These findings open new avenues for personalized approaches to the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of psychiatric illnesses.
Key facts:
- Schizophrenia has genetic risk factors with bipolar disorder and depression.
- Genetic vulnerability to psychotic disorders is higher in men than in women.
- These findings could lead to more personalized psychiatric treatments.
Source: University of Barcelona
A team of researchers from the University of Barcelona and the Center for Biomedical Research in Mental Health Network (CIBERSAM) has published a pioneering study that shows significant findings in the field of genetic psychiatry from the perspective of gender-separated analysis.
First, this paper confirms the existence of a shared genetic vulnerability between schizophrenia and other psychiatric disorders such as bipolar disorder and major depression.
Additionally, and in a novel way, this study shows that this is more important in men than in women with schizophrenia.
This study has been published in the journal European Neuropsychopharmacologywas led by Professors Barbara Arias and Araceli Rosa from the Faculty of Biology and Biomedical Institute of the University of Barcelona (IBUB) and CIBERSAM. The first authors of the study are Marina Mitosan (UB-IBUB-CIBERSAM) and Sergey Papiol, also a member of CIBERSAM and a researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Psychiatry in Munich (Germany).
In this study, the authors analyzed the CIBERSAM sample, which included 1,826 patients with psychosis and 1,372 control patients. The aim was to analyze how polygenic scores (PGS) for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder contribute to the risk of developing psychotic disorders and how this association differs between men and women.
“Our results strengthen the hypothesis that there are common genetic factors that contribute to the risk of developing these disorders, and show a common biological basis between them,” says Marina Mitsan, the first author of the study and also a member of the UB. . Department of Genetics, Microbiology and Statistics and Hospital Sant Joan de Déu de Déu de Barcelona (HSJD).
Furthermore, the results of this study suggest that there are differences between men and women in genetic vulnerability to psychotic disorders, which could have important implications for understanding the observed sex differences in prevalence, clinical presentation, and response to treatment.
“Our study highlights the importance of considering sex differences in genetic studies to develop more personalized strategies in prevention, diagnosis and treatment in clinical practice,” said Barbara Arias, member of the UB Department of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Sciences, and colleagues. slow down – Principal researcher of G08 CIBERSAM group.
The principal investigators of the study agree that “this study exemplifies the power of interdisciplinary collaboration between CIBERSAM groups to advance understanding of complex mental disorders”.
About this genetics and mental health research news
Author: Rosa Martinez
Source: University of Barcelona
contact: Rosa Martinez – University of Barcelona
Image: This image is credited to Neuroscience News
Main research: Open access.
“Shared vulnerability and sex-dependent polygenic burden in psychotic disorders” by Barbara Arias et al. European Neuropsychopharmacology
abstract
Shared vulnerability and sex-dependent polygenic burden in psychotic disorders
Evidence suggests a significant shared genetic susceptibility between psychiatric disorders. However, gender-related differences have been less studied.
We assessed the contribution of schizophrenia (SCZ), bipolar disorder (BD) and major depressive disorder (MDD) polygenic scores (PGSs) to the risk of developing psychotic disorders and whether there were gender-related differences (CIBERSAM sample: 1826 patients and 1372 controls). ) we checked. .
All PGSs were significantly associated with psychosis. Sex-stratified analyzes showed that the explained variance in the risk of psychotic disorders was significantly greater in men than in women for all PGSs.
Our results confirm a common genetic structure in psychotic disorders and reveal gender-dependent differences in vulnerability to psychotic disorders.
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