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PubMed2024

Transcriptomic pathology of neocortical microcircuit cell types across psychiatric disorders.

Psychiatric disorders such as major depressive disorder (MDD), bipolar disorder (BD), and schizophrenia (SCZ) are characterized by altered cognition and mood, brain functions that depend on information processing by cortical microcircuits. We hypothesized that psychiatric disorders would display cell type-specific transcriptional alterations in neuronal subpopulations that make up cortical microcircuits: excitatory pyramidal (PYR) neurons and vasoactive intestinal peptide- (VIP), somatostatin- (SST), and parvalbumin- (PVALB) expressing inhibitory interneurons. Using laser capture microdissection followed by RNA sequencing (LCM-seq), we performed cell type-specific molecular profiling of subgenual anterior cingulate cortex, a region implicated in mood and cognitive control. We sequenced libraries from 130 whole cells pooled per neuronal subtype (VIP, SST, PVALB, superficial and deep PYR) in 76 subjects from the University of Pittsburgh Brain Tissue Donation Program, evenly split between MDD, BD and SCZ subjects and healthy controls (totaling 380 bulk transcriptomes from ~50,000 neurons). We identified hundreds of differentially expressed (DE) genes and biological pathways across disorders and neuronal subtypes, with the vast majority in interneurons, particularly PVALB. While DE genes were unique to each cell type, there was a partial overlap across disorders for genes involved in the formation and maintenance of neuronal circuits. We observed coordinated alterations in biological pathways between select pairs of microcircuit cell types, also partially shared across disorders. Finally, DE genes coincided with known risk variants from psychiatric genome-wide association studies, suggesting cell type-specific convergence between genetic and transcriptomic risk for psychiatric disorders. Our study suggests transdiagnostic cortical microcircuit pathology in SCZ, BD, and MDD and sets the stage for larger-scale studies investigating how cell circuit-based changes contribute to shared psychiatric risk.

Humans↗

PubMed2026

Cardiovascular risks in psychiatric disorders and psychiatric risks in cardiovascular disorders: implications for prevention and clinical management - a large-scale umbrella review encompassing 76 meta-analyses.

OBJECTIVE: Psychiatric and cardiovascular disorders often co-occur, complicating their assessment and management. No umbrella review(UR) has summarized the meta-analytic evidence on the co-occurrence of psychiatric and cardiovascular disorders and assessed its credibility. METHODS: Meta-analytic systematic reviews of observational studies documenting the prevalence, risk factors, and outcomes associated with the co-occurrence of cardiovascular and psychiatric disorders, indexed from inception through March.16.2026, and meeting established diagnostic criteria, were included. Meta-analytic association and prevalence estimates were recalculated and graded based on established or adapted criteria. The AMSTAR-2 assessed the quality of the meta-analyses, while several subgroup analyses and meta-regressions aimed to explain the heterogeneity. RESULTS: We included 76 meta-analyses yielding 131 meta-analytic estimates. Based on pre-existing meta-analytic evidence, 22/24 prevalence estimates (91.7%) met moderate/strong credibility criteria. Strong credibility emerged for: orthostatic hypotension in Lewy body(58%;95%C.I. = 50-66%) and Alzheimer's dementias(28.0% = 95%C.I. = 17.0-40.0%); pericardial effusion in anorexia nervosa(25.0%;95%C.I. = 17.0-34.0%); in heart failure(HF): major depressive disorder(MDD)(41.9%;95%C.I. = 36.7-47.1%), mild cognitive impairment(MCI)(41.4%;95%C.I. = 38.3-45.6%), anxiety(32.0%;95%C.I. = 26.5-37.6%), MDD + anxiety(24.7%;95%C.I. = 17.9-34.3%), and dementia(19.8%;95%C.I. = 12.9-27.8%); in atrial fibrillation(AF): MCI(26.0%;95%C.I. = 21.0-30.0%), anxiety in patients undergoing pulmonary vein isolation(PVI)(25.0%;95%C.I. = 12.0-46.0%), MDD in PVI patients (20.0%;95%C.I. = 13.0-29.0%); in coronary artery disease: MDD + anxiety(19.8%;95%C.I. = 16.0-24.6%): in schizophrenia spectrum disorders: clozapine-associated-cardiomyopathy(0.6%;95%C.I. = 0.2-2.3%); clozapine-associated-cardiomyopathy absolute death rates (0.0003;95%C.I. = 0.0001-0.0012); clozapine-associated-cardiomyopathy case fatality rate (0.078;95%C.I. = 0.018-0.285). Several additional disorders were multimorbid in>5% of people, yet with a lower credibility rating. No re-pooled risk factors/outcomes reached strong credibility criteria. CONCLUSIONS: The present study provides an atlas of cardiovascular and psychiatric multimorbidity across varying levels of credibility, reinforcing the need for an integrated, multidisciplinary approach to patient care and for more research on actionable risk/protective factors and outcomes.

Humans↗

PubMed1975

Viral infection and psychiatric disorders.

A psychiatric population of 94 inpatients and 12 outpatients was investigated on referral to a psychiatric unit in a general hospital for serum antibody titres to several viruses by a complement fixation technique. Of the total population studied, only eight were considered to have antibody titres of possible significance. This result would appear to indicate that viral infection does not play a major part in the causation or precipitation of psychiatric disorders.

Adenoviridae↗

PubMed2025

A genome-wide analysis of the shared genetic risk architecture of complex neurological and psychiatric disorders.

Although neurological and psychiatric disorders have historically been considered to reflect distinct pathogenic entities, recent findings suggest shared pathophysiological mechanisms. However, the extent to which these heritable disorders share genetic influences remains unclear. Here we performed a comprehensive analysis of genome-wide association study data, involving nearly 1 million cases across ten neurological diseases and ten psychiatric disorders, to compare their common genetic signal and biological associations. Using complementary statistical tools, we demonstrate that a large set of common genetic variants impacts the risk of multiple neurological and psychiatric disorders, even in the absence of genetic correlations. Furthermore, genome-wide association studies on psychiatric disorders consistently implicate neuronal biology, whereas neurological diseases are associated with diverse neurobiological processes. Together, this study elucidates the genetic relationship between complex neurological and psychiatric disorders, indicating a larger degree of genetic pleiotropy than previously recognized. The findings have implications for disease classification, precision medicine and clinical practice.

Humans↗

PubMed2026

A genome-wide cross-trait analysis characterizes the shared genetic architecture between rheumatoid arthritis and psychiatric disorders.

OBJECTIVES: Patients with RA have a 2- to 3-fold elevated risk of psychiatric disorders, suggesting an underlying genetic link between these phenotypes. However, the shared genetic architectures and pathological mechanisms driving RA-psychiatric disorder comorbidity remain to be fully elucidated. Herein, we performed cross-trait analysis to investigate the shared genetic architecture between RA and psychiatric disorders. METHODS: Leveraging European-ancestry genome-wide association studies (GWASs) datasets of RA (n = 1 026 690) and 10 major psychiatric disorders (n = 14 307-1 222 882), we performed cross-trait pleiotropic analysis to identify the shared pleiotropic loci and genes between RA and psychiatric disorders, followed by functional annotation and Mendelian randomization analysis to explore the pathological mechanisms underlying RA-psychiatric disorder comorbidity. RESULTS: Our analysis revealed significant positive genetic correlations between RA and seven psychiatric disorders, such as major depressive disorder. From these correlations, we identified 61 pleiotropic loci jointly influencing RA and psychiatric disorder risk, along with 208 pleiotropic genes predominantly involved in immune and inflammatory response biological processes. Druggable target exploration identified 21 drug-gene interactions involving pleiotropic genes, with two genes (RHOA and TRAF3) classified in the clinically actionable category, representing potential therapeutic targets for both RA and psychiatric disorders. Mendelian randomization further demonstrated a bidirectional causal relationship between RA and schizophrenia, while supporting the causal roles of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, major depressive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder in increasing RA risk. CONCLUSION: Our findings elucidate the shared genetic architecture between RA and psychiatric disorders, providing novel insights into the pathological mechanisms underlying their comorbidity and laying the groundwork for improved comorbidity management.

Arthritis, Rheumatoid↗

PubMed1977

Psychiatric disorder in children with speech and language retardation. A critical review.

This article critically reviews the literature concerning psychiatric disorder in children with speech and language retardation. The data indicate that speech- and language-disordered children are at risk for psychiatric disorder, that there is some correlation between the presence of psychiatric disorder and the type of speech and language disturbance, and that there is a likely correlation between certain types of speech and language problems and the type of psychiatric difficulty. Firm conclusions in this area are hampered by many methodological difficulties. Finally, a review of the nature of the association between psychiatric disorder and speech and language retardation reveals that except in rare instances psychiatric disorder does not cause speech and language retardation, and that in most cases psychiatric disorder is indirectly caused by speech and language retardation.

Anxiety↗

PubMed2026

Constipation and Psychiatric Disorders: A Bidirectional Mendelian Randomization Study.

BACKGROUND: Observational studies have shown a link between constipation (CN) and psychiatric disorders, including Schizophrenia (SP), Bipolar disorder (BD), Schizoaffective disorder (SD), and Parkinson's disease (PD). However, it is still unknown whether CN affects the occurrence and development of psychiatric disorders or whether psychiatric disorders cause the occurrence and development of CN. Therefore, this study used Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis to evaluate the relationship between CN and psychiatric disorders. METHOD: We used genome-wide association studies (GWAS) to assess the relationship between constipation (N = 411, 623) and four psychiatric disorders, including SP ( N = 77, 096), BD (N = 51, 710), SD ( N = 210, 962), PD (N = 482, 730 ), using bidirectional MR analysis. Inverse variance weighting (IVW), MR Egger (ME) and Weighted median (WM) were used as causal analysis methods. Cochran's Q test, funnel plot, MR Egger intercept test and Leave.one.out analysis were used to detect sensitivity. Confounding factors were analyzed and eliminated by LDtrait to avoid influencing the final MR Analysis result. RESULTS: The results of positive MR analysis indicated that there was no evidence of influence of constipation on SP (OR 1.043, 95%CI 0.946 - 1.149, P value = 0.398), BD (OR 1.114, 95%CI 0.995 - 1.248, P value = 0.062), SD (OR 0.934, 95%CI 0.674 - 1.294, P value = 0.682) and PD (OR 1.118, 95%CI 0.918 - 1.361, P value = 0.269) under gene prediction. Reverse MR analysis suggested that SP (OR 1.030, 95% CI 1.001-1.060, P value = 0.042) had a causal relationship with constipation. BD (OR 0.993, 95% CI 0.962-1.025, P value = 0.664), SD (OR 1.021, 95% CI 0.984-1.059, P value = 0.265) and PD (OR 1.004, 95% CI 0.974-1.035, P value = 0.790) were not associated with CN. CONCLUSION: There was a positive association between SP and CN. CN may have no exact causal relationship with BD, SD and PD, and the interaction mechanism between these diseases needs to be further explored.

Constipation↗

PubMed2026

Genetic interconnections between personality-related phenotypes and psychiatric disorders.

BACKGROUND: Personality-related phenotypes are genetically correlated with psychiatric disorders, but whether these relationships reflect shared genetic loci and differ across individual phenotypes remains unclear. We investigated their shared genetic architecture at the level of specific phenotype-disorder pairs. METHODS: We analyzed genome-wide association study summary statistics for 13 personality-related phenotypes and eight psychiatric disorders in populations of European ancestry. Genetic correlations were evaluated separately for 104 phenotype-disorder pairs using linkage disequilibrium score regression and high-definition likelihood. For pairs supported by both methods, MTAG and CPASSOC were applied separately to identify pleiotropic signals, followed by linkage disequilibrium clumping, Bayesian colocalization, gene prioritization, functional enrichment and bidirectional two-sample Mendelian randomization analyses. No composite personality or psychiatric-disorder phenotype was constructed. RESULTS: Among the 104 evaluated pairs, 77 showed significant positive genetic correlations in both analyses. Joint screening of MTAG and CPASSOC results identified pleiotropic signals in 61 pairs, comprising 1088 independent lead SNV-pair associations and 776 unique SNVs. Bayesian colocalization supported 351 signals across 42 pairs and 284 unique lead SNVs. MAGMA identified 1293 unique genes, of which 379 were prioritized by PoPS and 151 were further supported by SMR. These genes were enriched in brain tissues and biological processes involving nervous system development, synaptic organization and intercellular connectivity. Inverse-variance weighted Mendelian randomization identified 41 forward and 32 reverse associations after false-discovery-rate correction, including 21 pairs with bidirectional evidence. CONCLUSION: These item-resolved analyses identify widespread but heterogeneous genetic sharing between personality-related phenotypes and psychiatric disorders. The findings provide a pair-specific map of shared loci and prioritized genes, while the Mendelian randomization results should be interpreted cautiously because of residual heterogeneity and potential horizontal pleiotropy. Further validation in diverse populations and functional studies is required.

Colocalization↗

PubMed2025

The role of the brain-bone axis in skeletal degenerative diseases and psychiatric disorders, A genome-wide pleiotropic analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Skeletal degenerative diseases and psychiatric disorders often coexist clinically. However, the genetic correlations and underlying biological mechanisms between these two types of diseases remain unclear. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the genetic correlations between skeletal degenerative diseases and psychiatric disorders and to identify shared genomic loci, genes, and pathways. METHODS: This comprehensive genome-wide pleiotropic association study utilized summary statistics from publicly available genome-wide association data. Various statistical genetic correlation methods were employed, including LDSC, HDL, PLACO, Coloc, Hyprcoloc, and Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis, along with immune cell colocalization analysis. The study aimed to identify potential shared genetic factors among three skeletal degenerative diseases (osteoarthritis, intervertebral disc degeneration, and osteoporosis) and three psychiatric disorders (schizophrenia, anxiety disorder, and major depressive disorder). RESULTS: Analyses using LDSC, HDL, and Bonferroni corrections revealed significant genetic correlations between intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD) and anxiety disorder (ANX); fractures, IVDD, and arthritis with major depressive disorder (MDD); and arthritis with schizophrenia (SCZ). Significant genetic correlations were also observed between VDD and ANX, fractures, IVDD, hip osteoarthritis (HipOA), knee osteoarthritis (KneeOA) and MDD, and KneeOA and SCZ. Pleiotropy analysis using PLACO, MAGMA, and multitrait colocalization Hyprcoloc identified 65 pleiotropic loci, 27 shared causal loci, and 9 shared risk loci involving immune cells related to both psychiatric and bone-related diseases. Additionally, tissue-specific enrichment analysis showed that genes mapped to these loci were enriched in brain, cardiovascular, pancreatic, and other tissues. The IVW method demonstrated that MDD increased the risk of IVDD and KneeOA, while IVDD increased the risk of ANX and MDD. Conversely, SCZ was associated with a reduced risk of KneeOA. Multiple sensitivity analyses further supported a positive causal effect of IVDD on MDD. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest significant genetic correlations between skeletal degenerative diseases and psychiatric disorders, highlighting multiple shared comorbid genes and key immune cell types. Importantly, the study supports the role of the brain-bone axis in the regulation of skeletal degenerative diseases and psychiatric disorders, which could provide valuable insights for potential therapeutic targets and interventions for these conditions.

Humans↗

PubMed2025

Identifying novel protein biomarkers with cross-psychiatric disorders effects and potential intervention targets: Evidence from proteomic-Mendelian randomization.

Plasma proteins are the potential therapeutic targets for psychiatric disorders due to their important roles in signal transduction. We aimed to explore the plasma protein biomarkers with cross-psychiatric disorders effects. Proteome-wide Mendelian randomization (MR) and colocalization analyses were performed to investigate the potential causal relationship between plasma protein biomarkers and 12 psychiatric disorders and further identify the potential proteins with cross-effects. To assess the directionality and exclude potential reverse causation, Steiger directionality tests and reverse MR analyses were additionally conducted. Then, validation analysis was performed by employing summary data from cross-psychiatric disorder GWAS to validate the cross-psychiatric effects of proteins. Protein-protein interactions were conducted to evaluate the interaction between candidate proteins and druggability assessment was used to prioritize potential drug targets for psychiatric disorders. We identified novel plasma proteins that possessed cross-psychiatric disorder effects, especially BTN2A1 and BTN3A2 associated with major depressive disorder (MDD), schizophrenia (SCZ), and bipolar disorder (BIP); ITIH1, ITIH3, ITIH4 and FES associated with SCZ and BIP, and the cross-effects of these proteins on SCZ and BIP were confirmed by validation analyses. Steiger tests and reverse MR supported causal directionality. Besides, the protein-protein interactions (PPI) analysis indicated cross-effects proteins had significant interaction, especially ITIH1-ITIH3. The druggability assessment prioritized eight proteins, two of which (ITIH3 and NCAM1) has been targeted by antipsychotic drugs. Our findings provided insights into shared biological mechanisms underlying these conditions.

Humans↗

PubMed2025

Associations of Genetic Liability to Six Psychiatric Disorders With Cardiometabolic Diseases.

IMPORTANCE: Individuals with psychiatric disorders have increased risk of cardiometabolic diseases (CMDs). Evaluating how psychiatric genetic liability relates to CMD may clarify mechanisms. OBJECTIVE: Identify genetic overlap between psychiatric disorders and CMDs independent of cross-disorder pleiotropy, BMI, and smoking. DESIGN SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Three Northern European cohorts (the Swedish Twin Registry, the Estonian Biobank, and the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study [MoBa]) totaling 355,159 individuals. Associations with CMDs were estimated as adjusted odds ratios (AORs) from logistic models mutually adjusted for all psychiatric PRSs and in models additionally adjusting for body mass index (BMI) and smoking. Cohort-specific AORs were pooled by inverse-variance weighting. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Exposures were PRSs for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), major depressive disorder (MDD), anxiety disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia. Outcomes were diagnoses of CMDs (hyperlipidemia, obesity, type 2 diabetes, hypertensive diseases, arteriosclerosis, ischemic heart disease, heart failure, thromboembolic disease, cerebrovascular disease, and arrhythmias), ascertained from electronic health records. RESULTS: The MDD PRS was associated with increased risk of all CMDs across analyses (AORs ranged from 1.13 [95% CI, 1.10-1.15] for heart failure to 1.02 [95% CI, 1.00-1.05] for arrhythmias). The ADHD PRS was associated with increased risk of all CMDs (AOR ranged from 1.11 [95% CI, 1.09-1.12] for obesity to 1.02 [95% CI, 1.01-1.03] for hyperlipidemia), however associations where attenuated when adjusting for BMI and smoking (lifestyle adjusted AOR for obesity: 1.03 [95% CI, 1.02-1.05]). When not mutually adjusting for all psychiatric PRSs, anxiety disorder and PTSD PRSs were associated with all CMDs; these associations diminished after adjustment. The bipolar and schizophrenia PRSs were inversely associated with most CMDs (AOR for schizophrenia PRS and obesity, 0.93 [95% CI, 0.92-0.94]). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Associations between psychiatric PRSs and CMDs diverged: ADHD, MDD, anxiety disorder, and PTSD PRSs were positively associated with CMDs, whereas bipolar and schizophrenia PRSs were inversely associated. Genetic liability to MDD showed robust associations with CMDs independent of cross-disorder pleiotropy, BMI, and smoking status, whereas associations between the ADHD PRS and CMDs were largely attenuated after adjustment for BMI and smoking.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2026

Stratifying the risk of transition to adult-onset psychiatric disorders in adolescents with anxiety.

BACKGROUND: Escalating mental health service demands have created a need to better identify young people most likely to require continued support from mental health services at the transition between childhood and adulthood. Anxiety is the most common adolescent mental health condition, yet its clinical significance and prognosis are not well understood. We aimed to examine the risk of young adult-onset psychiatric disorders in individuals with an adolescent anxiety disorder, and identify stratifiers of risk of subsequent psychiatric disorders in this group. METHODS: Individuals from the Norwegian Mother, Father, and Child Cohort Study (MoBa) with linked health records and aged 18 or over as of the 31st December 2023 were included. Those diagnosed with any ICD-10 anxiety disorder when aged 10-17 years were defined as having an adolescent anxiety disorder (n=2107, controls n=47,582). Polygenic scores (PGS) for psychiatric and neurodevelopmental conditions were calculated using LDpred2. Anxiety, comorbidities, and parental psychiatric history were defined through linked ICD-10 diagnoses. Sex was defined through linked records. Individuals were defined as having a young adult-onset psychiatric disorder if they first received any new psychiatric diagnosis aged 18-24. RESULTS: Adolescent anxiety diagnosis was associated with increased risk of all adult-onset psychiatric disorders (HR= 2.33-8.65). Post-traumatic stress disorder PGS, parental history of severe mental illness, and female sex were associated with increased risk of transition to a young adult-onset psychiatric disorder in people with an adolescent anxiety disorder. CONCLUSIONS: Adolescent anxiety greatly increases the risk of a psychiatric disorder during the transition to adult life. Clinicians should consider female sex and parental psychiatric history when prioritising young people with anxiety for adult mental health service support. Future research needs to further consider whether polygenic scores would aid risk stratification in clinical practice.

Norwegian Mother Father and Child Cohort Study↗

PubMed2026

Genetically predicted childhood traits and parental health and risk of pediatric psychiatric disorders: A 2-sample Mendelian randomization study.

The etiology of pediatric psychiatric disorders is complex, involving intergenerational influences and a child's own developmental health. We aimed to investigate the potential effects of genetically predicted childhood traits (childhood obesity, absence epilepsy, intelligence) and parental health traits (longevity, Alzheimer disease, severe depression) on the risk of several childhood and adolescent psychiatric disorders. We employed a 2-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) design using summary statistics from large-scale genome-wide association studies. Data for parental health exposures were primarily from the UK Biobank. Data for childhood trait exposures were from various consortia. Data for outcomes - conduct disorder, mixed conduct and emotional disorders, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and broader behavioral/emotional and social disorders - were sourced from FinnGen and the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium, among others. We used the inverse-variance weighted method for the primary analysis, with MR-Egger, weighted median, and weighted mode as additional analyses. To test the robustness of the results, we conducted sensitivity analyses using MR-Egger regression, Cochran Q test for heterogeneity, the MR-pleiotropy residual sum and outlier test, and a leave-one-out analysis. Genetic liability for childhood obesity was associated with an increased risk of ASD (odds ratio = 1.06, P = .016) and ADHD (odds ratio = 1.09, P = .026), even though these associations did not withstand multiple testing correction. No other robust, statistically significant causal associations were identified. Sensitivity analyses showed limited evidence of bias from horizontal pleiotropy for the main findings. Our findings provide MR evidence supporting potential links from genetic liability for childhood obesity to increased risks of ASD and ADHD. These results highlight the importance of considering a child's early-life health trajectory in the etiology of pediatric psychiatric disorders.

Humans↗

PubMed1978

Psychiatric disorder, hospital admission, and season.

Psychiatric disorder has been considered to have seasonal variation for a long time. The studies to date have suffered frequently from small samples and imprecise terminology, and the results have been inconclusive. This study has attempted to overcome these difficulties by examining hospital admissions to all facilities in the province of Ontario for a six-year period, with each year carefully divided into seasons. Statistically significant seasonal variation, with peaks in the spring and fall, was found overall for neurotic and endogenous depression. Alcoholism also showed a spring peak. No other diagnoses, overall, showed seasonality, although personality disorders, drug addictions, and transient situational disturbances exhibited trends similar to neurotic depression for certain age and sex groups. The findings are discussed in terms of their clinical and research significance.

Adjustment Disorders↗

PubMed2026

Association of Genetic Liability to Psychiatric Disorders with Peripheral Metabolic Dysregulation.

IMPORTANCE: Individuals with psychiatric disorders face elevated cardiometabolic risk which is linked to increased mortality. The extent to which this reflects shared pathogenesis or the downstream effects of illness and treatment remains poorly understood. OBJECTIVE: To characterize the direct pleiotropic effects of psychiatric genetic liability on circulating metabolites and aggregate cardiometabolic risk, independent of psychiatric diagnosis and psychotropic medication use. DESIGN SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Cross-sectional analysis of Mass General Brigham Biobank participants with metabolomic profiling, genomic data, and linked electronic health records. EXPOSURES: Genetic liability to nine psychiatric disorders quantified using polygenic risk scores (PRS): attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), anorexia nervosa (ANO), anxiety disorder (ANX), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), bipolar disorder (BD), major depressive disorder (MDD), PTSD, schizophrenia (SCZ), and substance use disorder (SUD). MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: 249 circulating metabolites and four metabolomic risk scores (MRS) for type 2 diabetes, myocardial infarction, ischemic stroke, and vascular dementia. PRS-metabolite associations were estimated using nested models adjusting for lifetime psychiatric diagnosis and psychotropic medication use. RESULTS: Across 25,290 participants, we identified 604 significant PRS-metabolite associations (Bonferroni p< 1.36 x 10-4), of which 89% persisted after adjustment for lifetime diagnosis and medication use, suggesting that the direct genetic effects on metabolism are largely independent of illness or treatment. PRS for MDD, PTSD, and ADHD showed the most extensive dysregulation, with a transdiagnostic pattern of elevated lipids and systemic inflammation, specifically triglycerides (β = 0.04 to 0.05, all p< 4.4 x10-13) and glycoprotein acetyls (β = 0.05, all p< 2.2 x10-16). Notably, PRS for SCZ and BD showed minimal metabolite dysregulation despite having the strongest association with their target diagnoses. PRS for MDD, PTSD, ADHD, and SUD were associated with increased MRS across cardiometabolic conditions (β = 0.03 to 0.08, all p< 2.1 x10-4). Sensitivity analyses controlling for BMI or excluding participants without any psychiatric history (N: 21,305 and 11,150, respectively) showed a similar pattern. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Psychiatric genetic liability is associated with systemic metabolic dysregulation independent of illness onset or treatment, supporting a partially pleiotropic basis for psychiatric-cardiometabolic comorbidity.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2026

Leveraging the genetics of psychiatric disorders to prioritize potential drug targets and compounds.

Genetics can inform biologically relevant drug development and repurposing, which may improve patient care. Here, we leverage the genetics of psychiatric disorders to prioritize potential drug targets and compounds. We used the genome-wide association studies of four psychiatric disorders [attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), bipolar disorder, depression, and schizophrenia] and genes encoding drug targets. We conducted drug enrichment analyses incorporating the novel and biologically specific GSA-MiXeR tool. We conducted multiple molecular trait analyses using large-scale transcriptomic and proteomic datasets sampled from brain and blood tissue. This included the novel use of the UK Biobank proteomic data for a proteome-wide association study of psychiatric disorders. With the accumulated evidence, we prioritize potential drug targets and compounds for each disorder. We reveal candidate drug targets associated with a single or multiple disorders that implicate glutamate signaling. Drug prioritization indicated genetic support for psychotropic medications, including several top-ranked antipsychotics for schizophrenia. We also observed genetic support for commonly used psychotropics for psychiatric treatment (e.g., clozapine, duloxetine, and lithium). Revealed opportunities for drug repurposing included cholinergic drugs for ADHD, estrogen modulators for depression, and matrix metalloproteinases for ADHD and depression. Our findings indicate the genetic liability to schizophrenia is associated with reduced brain and blood expression of CYP2D6, a gene encoding a metabolizer of drugs and neurotransmitters, suggesting a genetic risk for poor drug response and altered neurotransmission. Our extensive analyses highlight the utility of genetics for informing drug development and repurposing for psychiatric disorders, providing novel opportunities for improving patient outcomes. Depicted is the series of analyses conducted to generate a list of prioritized drug targets and compounds. First pairings of genome-wide association study (GWAS) traits with drugs are generated using enrichment analyses. Next, a series of molecular trait analyses is conducted to generate and rank a list of potential drug targets for each GWAS trait. Finally, enrichment and molecular trait results are combined to generate a ranked list of prioritized drugs for each GWAS trait based on supporting genetic evidence. ADHD = Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, BIP = Bipolar disorder, DEP = Depression, SCZ = Schizophrenia, DBP = Diastolic blood pressure, T2D = Type 2 diabetes, RNA = ribonucleic acid, XWAS = both transcriptome and proteome-wide association studies, MR = Mendelian randomization, coloc = colocalization.

Humans↗

PubMed1979

Platelet MAO activity and evoked potentials in the identification of subjects biologically at risk for psychiatric disorders.

Individuals potentially at risk for psychiatric disorders were identified by screening 375 college student volunteers for low platelet monoamine oxidase (MAO) activity levels. The lower and upper 10% in MAO activity were administered a personal and family history interview, psychological tests and average evoked response (AER) electroencephalographic procedures. Results indicated that low MAO males and females were socially more active, had more psychiatric contact, and had relatives who were psychiatrically more disturbed than high MAO subjects. Low MAO males had more convictions, experimented more with illegal drugs and had elevated scores on the MMPI. AER criteria further defined a high risk group of low MAO-AER augmenters which had more suicides among their relatives and higher scores on the schizophrenia scale of the MMPI.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1978

Psychiatric disorders in a U.S. urban community: 1975-1976.

The authors point out that new findings in psychiatric genetics and psychopharmacology support the heterogeneity of psychiatric disorders. They present data on the current rates of specific psychiatric disorders, using a recently developed diagnostic technique in a survey conducted in New Haven, Conn., during 1975-1976. The survey showed that depressive disorders are the most common diagnoses.

Adolescent↗