INE The number of suicides in Spain continues to increase: 4,003 people, 22 of them under the age of 15, took their own lives in 2021
Prevention How to help a person who has thought about taking their own life: what are the warning signs?
what should we never do?
Is there a
genetic basis
for
suicidal thoughts and behavior
?
This is the question that led to a study led by researchers at the Duke University Medical Center and Durham VA, in North Carolina, United States, in which
four genes have been identified that appear regularly
among people who have had documented cases of
suicidal thoughts or actions
after analyzing their entire genome.
Suicide is one of the leading causes of death;
however, the
molecular genetic basis
of suicidal thoughts and behaviors
remains unknown
, so identifying novel and replicable genomic risk loci [physical location of a specific gene on a chromosome] for these behaviors may be helpful.
This work, published in JAMA Psychiatry, has been carried out on
633,778 United States military veterans
and has identified 7
significant cross-ancestry
risk loci throughout the genome through a meta-analysis.
The main loci were replicated independently in a large international cohort.
Although multiple
novel cross-ancestry
candidate risk genes for this type of behavior have been identified, the authors believe that further work and evidence is needed to replicate these findings and determine whether these genes could have a significant impact on
clinical care.
.
Union with life events
"While more data is needed to determine whether the identification of genetic markers could lead to
targeted treatments
, it is clear that the findings advance our understanding of how
inherited risk factors
play a role
in the pathology of suicidal thoughts and actions." ", they point out in the article.
Nathan Kimbrel, from the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Duke University and co-senior author of the study, believes that it is important to note that
these genes do not predestine
anyone to have or develop these disorders
, but it is also important to understand that " may confer increased risk, particularly when
combined with life events
. "
Krimbel's team, which also includes co-senior author Allison Ashley-Koch, a professor in Duke's Department of Medicine, conducted an extensive and diverse whole-genome analysis using data from 633,778 US veterans.
Of the participants,
71.4% were of European descent
;
19.1% of African
descent
;
8.1% Hispanic
and
1.3%
Asian
.
They were mainly men, with
only 9% being women
.
Within that group of veterans,
121,211 cases of suicidal thoughts or actions were identified
from medical records.
Participants were classified as controls if they had no documented lifetime history of self-injurious behaviors.
Through a genome-wide analysis of blood samples, the researchers identified
numerous genes
that were evident among participants with documented cases of suicidal thoughts or actions,
regardless of their ancestral background
.
the magnificent four
Four genes
had the strongest links and have previously been associated with
psychiatric conditions
:
ESR1
, an estrogen receptor, was previously identified as a causative gene drive gene
for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
and
depression
, both of which are risk factors. of suicidal behavior among veterans.
"Estrogen is also suspected to be the cause of
sex differences in rates of depression
, and loss of ESR1 has been found to produce effects in brain tissue in men," explains Krimbel.
Another gene,
DRD2
, is a dopamine receptor and has been associated with
suicide
attempts ,
schizophrenia
, mood disorders, ADHD, risk behaviors, and
alcohol use
disorder .
The
third gene, DCC
, is expressed in brain tissue throughout life, has been associated with multiple psychiatric conditions, and is
elevated in the brain
of people who
die by suicide
.
Lastly,
TRAF3
is associated with
antisocial behavior
,
substance use, and ADHD
.
Lithium, the
gold standard
treatment for bipolar disorder that has been shown to reduce suicide risk, modulates the expression of TRAF3 and several other inflammatory genes.
In addition to those genes, the researchers also identified nine additional
ancestry-
specific risk genes .
According to Kimbrel, while genes pose a
small amount of risk
relative to other factors, "we need to better understand the
biological pathways
that underlie a person's risk of engaging in suicidal behavior."
The author emphasizes that suicide is the cause of more than 700,000 deaths a year and is the fourth leading cause of death among people between the ages of
15 and 29
.
"So the more we know, the better we can
prevent these tragic deaths
. "
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Mental health
Genetics