Suicide is a leading cause of death, with approximately 700,000 people dying by suicide each year. It is the fourth most common cause of death among people aged 15 to 29. Knowing more can help us avoid these unfortunate deaths to a greater extent.
Researchers at Duke Health and the Durham VA led a large study of military members that found four genes that are linked to a higher risk of suicidal thoughts and actions.
Even though more research needs to be done to find out if finding the genetic markers could lead to targeted treatments, the findings show how inherited risk factors play a role in the pathology of suicidal thoughts and actions.
“It’s important to note that these genes do not predestine anyone to problems, but it’s also important to understand that there could be heightened risks, particularly when combined with life events,” adds co-author Nathan Kimbrel.
The findings of the study will be published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry today.
Kimbrel and his team, which included co-lead author Allison Ashley-Koch, a professor in the Department of Medicine at Duke, used data from 633,778 U.S. military veterans to do a large, diverse, genome-wide analysis. Of the people who took part, 71.4% were European, 19.1% were African, 8.1% were Hispanic, and 1.3% were Asian. Most of the people in the study were men; only 9% were women.
Medical records showed that 121,211 of these veterans had thought about or tried to kill themselves. If there was no history of self-harming behaviors in a participant’s medical records, they were designated as a control.
Researchers looked at blood samples from people who had suicidal thoughts or actions and found that many of the same genes were present in all of them, no matter where they came from. The strongest links were between four genes that have already been linked to psychiatric conditions:
A gene called ESR1, which is an estrogen receptor, has been found to be a cause of PTSD and depression, which are risk factors for veterans to act suicidally. Men’s brain tissue may be affected by the loss of ESR1, suggesting that estrogen may contribute to the observed gender disparity in depressive symptoms.
Dopamine receptor DRD2 has been linked to suicide attempts, schizophrenia, mood disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), risky behavior, and alcohol use disorder.
DCC is upregulated in the brains of persons who commit suicide and has been linked to a number of mental health disorders.
TRAF3 is linked to psychopathic traits such drug abuse and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Lithium is the best treatment for bipolar disorder, and it has been shown to lower the risk of suicide. It does this by changing the expression of TRAF3 and a number of other inflammatory genes.
Researchers found nine more ancestry-specific risk genes.
“While genes account for small amount of risk relative to other factors, we need to better understand the biological pathways that underly a person’s risk for engaging in suicidal behavior,” Kimbrel adds. “Suicide is the cause of over 700,000 deaths annually and is the fourth-leading cause of death among people ages 15 to 29 years old. The more we know, the better we can prevent these tragic deaths.”
Source: JAMA Psychiatry
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