Our understanding of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), until now, is that it is a mental health disorder that occurs as a consequence of exposure to extreme, life-threatening stress, and/or serious injury. This exposure, by definition, is requisite for the development of PTSD, but not all those who face trauma necessarily develop it the individual susceptibility to PTSD varies widely. Since the turn of the century, scientists have been trying to find evidence for genetic influence on PTSD risk, with the last decade witnessing concerted efforts to identify specific DNA variants that can influence ones genetic susceptibility to develop PTSD.
New research, findings of which were published in Nature Communications, has, for the first time, identified a clear biological pathway for the mental health disorder, despite a section of science still viewing it as an entirely social construction. In the largest and most diverse genetic study of PTSD to date, scientists from the University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine and more than 130 additional institutions have concluded that genetics do, in fact, play a role in determining whether or not a person will develop PTSD, similar to the biological pathways of depression and other forms of mental illness.
Our long-term goal is to develop tools that might help clinicians predict who is at greatest risk for PTSD and personalize their treatment approaches. We cant always protect people from trauma. But we can treat them in the best ways possible, at the best time, Dr. Caroline Nievergelt, the studys first author, associate professor of psychiatry at UC San Diego School of Medicine and associate director of neuroscience in the Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health at the Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System, said in a press release.
In collaboration with the Psychiatric Genomics Consortiums PTSD working group and Cohen Veterans Bioscience, a non-profit organization dedicated to accelerating PTSD and traumatic brain injury research, the studys authors built a 12-country network of more than 200 researchers, assembling data and DNA samples from more than 20,000 people with PTSD and 170,000 control subjects (those who did not develop PTSD following trauma).
At more than 200,000 people, the latest studys sample size is 10 times larger than the firstPsychiatric Genomics Consortium PTSD study, published in 2017, and includes both civilians and members of the military. The release notes the cohort is also the most ancestrally diverse for any psychiatric genetics study to date, with more than 23,000 people with PTSD of European ancestry and more than 4,000 of African ancestry.
Related on The Swaddle:
Researchers Find Genetic Hotspot Behind Autism
Putting this large database through statistical analyses, the studys authors measured the effect of gene variants at millions of different points on chromosomes across the human genomes on someones chances of developing PTSD.
According to the findings, PTSDs heritability the level of influence genetics has on the variability of PTSD risk among people is between 5% and 20%. Scientists found that, like other psychiatric disorders and several human traits, the risk of developing PTSD following trauma is a highly polygenic trait. This means there exist thousands of genes at different loci on different chromosomes that make tiny contributions to the disorder and when expressed together, add up to the heritable trait. Scientists have found gene variants at six loci that were strongly associated with PTSD risk.
Three of the six loci were specific to certain ancestral backgrounds two European and one African and three were only detected in men. The six loci hint that inflammatory and immune mechanisms may be involved in the disorder, which is consistent with findings from previous studies, the release summarises.
Further exploring the relatively nascent belief in science that many psychiatric disorders and behavioral traits have important molecular similarities at DNA-level, the study also analyzed genetic correlations between PTSD and 235 other disorders behaviors and physical traits. They found a significant overlap with 21, including depression, schizophrenia, insomnia, asthma, and coronary artery disease. Additionally, a Parkinsons disease gene involved in dopamine regulation was also found to be associated with PTSD. Similar to other mental disorders, the genetic contribution to PTSD correlates with that for many other traits. Further research is needed to determine what this means whether some of the same genes that influence risk for PTSD also influence risk for other diseases like, for example, depression, Karestan Koenen, a senior author of the study and associate member of the Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research at MIT and Harvard University, and a professor of psychiatric epidemiology in the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, said in the release.
Koenen adds: Based on these findings, we can say with certainty that there is just as much of a genetic component to PTSD risk as major depression and other mental illnesses. Our limited ability to study the living human brain and uncover the biological roots of PTSD has contributed to the lack of treatments and the stigma around this debilitating condition. Genetics helps us make new discoveries, find opportunities for new therapies, and counter that stigma.
- Age-related genetic changes in the blood associated with poor cancer prognosis - Medical Xpress - April 24th, 2025
- Parts of our DNA may evolve much faster than previously thought - The University of Utah - April 24th, 2025
- It runs in the family: the importance of genetics in pneumothorax - The BMJ - April 24th, 2025
- Inferring past demography and genetic adaptation in Spain using the GCAT cohort - Nature - April 24th, 2025
- Answers to a 160-year-old riddle about the genetics of Mendels pea traits - Nature - April 24th, 2025
- Towards a genetic obesity risk score in a single-center study of children and adolescents with obesity - Nature - April 24th, 2025
- Pan-genomic analysis highlights genes associated with agronomic traits and enhances genomics-assisted breeding in alfalfa - Nature - April 24th, 2025
- Study highlights critical diversity gap in psychiatric genomics research - Medical Xpress - April 24th, 2025
- Daily briefing: Potato pangenome reveals the complex genetics of the humble spud - Nature - April 24th, 2025
- Genetic diversity and adaptability of native sheep breeds from different climatic zones - Nature - April 24th, 2025
- Ginkgo Automation Partners with Aura Genetics to Accelerate Direct-to-Consumer Testing and Innovation - PR Newswire - April 24th, 2025
- Why Sarepta Therapeutics And Other Genetics Stocks Just Got A Sizable Boost - Investor's Business Daily - April 24th, 2025
- Why White Blood Cells were used to study genetic past and future of Indians - India Today - April 24th, 2025
- Association between plausible genetic factors and weight loss from GLP1-RA and bariatric surgery - Nature - April 24th, 2025
- Recent habitat modification of a tropical dry forest hotspot drives population genetic divergence in the Mexican leaf frog: a landscape genetics... - April 24th, 2025
- Barney's Farm Partners with Backpackboyz on Groundbreaking Cannabis Genetics Project - Ganjapreneur - Ganjapreneur - April 24th, 2025
- U.S. Preimplantation Genetic Testing Market Witness the Highest Growth Globally in Coming Years 2025-2034 - openPR.com - April 24th, 2025
- Exploring the implications of case selection methods for psychiatric molecular genetic studies - Nature - April 24th, 2025
- Genetic susceptibility to schizophrenia through neuroinflammatory pathways associated with retinal thinness - Nature - April 24th, 2025
- Who Were the Carthaginians? Ancient DNA Study Reveals a Stunning Answer - Haaretz - April 24th, 2025
- Genetics - National Geographic Society - March 28th, 2025
- Genetics: Introduction, law of inheritance and Sex Determination - BYJU'S - March 28th, 2025
- Genetics, ecology and evolution of phage satellites - Nature.com - March 28th, 2025
- As a geneticist, I will not mourn 23andMe and its jumble of useless health information | Adam Rutherford - The Guardian - March 28th, 2025
- Rare loss-of-function variants in HECTD2 and AKAP11 confer risk of bipolar disorder - Nature.com - March 28th, 2025
- With 23andMe filing for bankruptcy, what happens to consumers genetic data? - The Conversation Indonesia - March 28th, 2025
- A genetic tree as a movie: Moving beyond the still portrait of ancestry - Phys.org - March 28th, 2025
- Genetic mutations linked to Marek's disease in chickens identified - Phys.org - March 28th, 2025
- 23andMe is looking to sell customers genetic data. Heres how to delete it - CNN - March 28th, 2025
- Horses Pulled Off a Genetic Trick Only Viruses Were Thought to Use - SciTechDaily - March 28th, 2025
- CONSUMER ALERT: Warning 23AndMe Customers That Their Private Genetic Data May Be at Risk - Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia - March 28th, 2025
- A new study reveals the genetic change that made horses so athletic - KUOW News and Information - March 28th, 2025
- "Mystery ancestors" gave humans 20% of our current DNA, but who were they? - Earth.com - March 28th, 2025
- Correcting the Mutation Behind a Genetic Eye Disease - The Scientist - March 28th, 2025
- Your DNA is safe here: The AncestryDNA Genetic Test Kit is only $39 now - New York Post - March 28th, 2025
- 23andMe Is Bankrupt. Heres What You Need to Know About Your Genetic Data. - The Wall Street Journal - March 28th, 2025
- Commentary: 23andMe files for bankruptcy, putting its hoard of personal health information at risk - Los Angeles Times - March 28th, 2025
- DNA Microscopy Creates 3D Maps of Life From the Inside Out - SciTechDaily - March 28th, 2025
- Eugenics Must Be Included in Genetics Curriculum: Prof - Mirage News - March 28th, 2025
- 11-minute video on human genetics can make people more accepting of others, reveals new study - Hindustan Times - February 24th, 2025
- Advancing Cancer Genetic Testing to Improve Prevention and Patient Treatment - The Scientist - February 24th, 2025
- Environmental factors, lifestyle choices have greater impact on health than genes, study finds - ABC News - February 24th, 2025
- Study finds lifestyle, environment have greater impact on lifespan than genetics - CBS Boston - February 24th, 2025
- Safeguard repressor locks hepatocyte identity and blocks liver cancer - Nature.com - February 24th, 2025
- Mass spectrometry-based mapping of plasma protein QTLs in children and adolescents - Nature.com - February 24th, 2025
- The Avestagenome Project and TIGS Sign Strategic Alliance to Advance Research in Rare Genetic Disorders - The Tribune India - February 24th, 2025
- Researchers make breakthrough discovery after studying genetics of trees: 'There is a need for proactive conservation' - MSN - February 24th, 2025
- iPSCs and iPSC-derived cells as a model of human genetic and epigenetic variation - Nature.com - February 24th, 2025
- Beyond genetics: The biggest factors that influence health and aging - Earth.com - February 24th, 2025
- Genetic diversity and dietary adaptations of the Central Plains Han Chinese population in East Asia - Nature.com - February 24th, 2025
- How a uniquely human genetic tweak changed the voices of mice - NPR - February 24th, 2025
- Genetic evidence identifies a causal relationship between EBV infection and multiple myeloma risk - Nature.com - February 24th, 2025
- Genetic markers of early response to lurasidone in acute schizophrenia - Nature.com - February 24th, 2025
- Bupa to offer first genetic test for disease prediction in UK - The Times - February 24th, 2025
- Advancing Therapeutic Knowledge of Genetic Influence in ALS: Matthew B. Harms, MD - Neurology Live - February 24th, 2025
- Association of dietary carbohydrate ratio, caloric restriction, and genetic factors with breast cancer risk in a cohort study - Nature.com - February 24th, 2025
- Evaluation of polygenic scores for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in the general population and across clinical settings - Nature.com - February 24th, 2025
- Familiar autism-linked genes emerge from first analysis of Latin American cohort - The Transmitter: Neuroscience News and Perspectives - February 24th, 2025
- Almost 90% of people would agree to genetic testing to tailor medication use, survey finds - Medical Xpress - February 24th, 2025
- Largest Genetic Study of Bipolar Disorder Identifies 298 Regions of the Genome That Increase Risk for the Condition - Mount Sinai - January 27th, 2025
- Study Sheds Light On The Origin Of Earth Lifes Genetic Code - Astrobiology News - January 27th, 2025
- Largest study on the genetics of bipolar disorder to date gives new insights into the underlying biology - Medical Xpress - January 27th, 2025
- Genetic Swiss Army Knife: New Tool For Gene Editing And Therapy - Forbes - January 27th, 2025
- Uhm Ji-won says the power of genetics is undeniable with Hyun Bin and Son Ye-jin's son - - January 27th, 2025
- Integrative proteogenomic analysis identifies COL6A3-derived endotrophin as a mediator of the effect of obesity on coronary artery disease -... - January 27th, 2025
- Genetic analysis reveals the genetic diversity and zoonotic potential of Streptococcus dysgalactiae isolates from sheep - Nature.com - January 27th, 2025
- Eight psychiatric disorders share the same genetic causes, study says - Medical Xpress - January 27th, 2025
- Exploring genetic associations and drug targets for mitochondrial proteins and schizophrenia risk - Nature.com - January 27th, 2025
- Predictive Genetic Testing and Consumer Genomics Market - GlobeNewswire - January 27th, 2025
- Evolution without sex: How mites have survived for millions of years - EurekAlert - January 27th, 2025
- Our Understanding of Rules that Produce Lifes Genetic Code May Require a Revision - DISCOVER Magazine - January 27th, 2025
- Personalized therapy for rare genetic diseases: Patient-derived organoids offer new hope - Medical Xpress - January 27th, 2025
- The One Thing That's More Important for Longevity Than Your Genes - Parade Magazine - January 27th, 2025
- Complete recombination map of the human genome created - Medical Xpress - January 27th, 2025
- Evidence of genetic determination of annual movement strategies in medium-sized raptors - Nature.com - January 27th, 2025
- Genetic study of Alaska red king crabs suggests species is more diverse and resilient to climate change - Global Seafood Alliance - January 27th, 2025
- Smartwatches reveal insights into psychiatric illnesses and genetic links - Medical Xpress - January 27th, 2025
- Unlocking the Blueprint of Human Life With a Revolutionary DNA Map - SciTechDaily - January 27th, 2025
- Largest Genetic Study of Bipolar Disorder Identifies Nearly 300 Risk-Associated Genome Regions - Inside Precision Medicine - January 27th, 2025
- Genetic Discrimination Is Coming for Us All - The Atlantic - November 16th, 2024