Genetic Study On Suicide Sheds Light On At Risk Populations

Recent genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have shown that there are 12 gene variants across diverse ethnic backgrounds that may be linked to an increased risk of attempting suicide. These genes were linked to other detrimental health conditions such as lung and heart disease, chronic pain, depression, bipolar disorder, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) among many others. A cumulative effect of both mental and physical conditions was found to increase the odds of someone attempting suicide; however, because someone has any number of these conditions does not mean that they would attempt suicide, just that they are considered more at risk. These genes were also found to have other functions such as repairing damaged DNA, managing cellular stress, and communicating with the immune system, which makes sense as these processes are targets of antipsychotic and antidepressant drugs and are highly expressed in the brain in general. The study also found that those that have family members that have attempted suicide are at a higher risk as well. Overall, this study provides insight on what genes could be analyzed to assess risk of suicide attempt could open new avenues for treating those at risk.

While there is little doubt that those with mental disorders would be at a higher risk of attempting suicide, one must consider if the genes are all there is to blame. With tragic global news more widely available than ever, and non-genetic stimuli than ever contributing to increases in ADHD diagnoses, one must consider the affect of environmental factors, including others not mentioned. While genetic sequencing could provide additional insight to who may be at risk, it would be irresponsible to medicate someone who may exhibit genetic risk factors if they are perfectly healthy otherwise. I believe genetic sequencing could be used to determine risk, but mental evaluations should be periodically conducted to ensure that otherwise healthy people are not being excessively medicated.

https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2023-10-04/largest-ever-study-of-suicide-genetics-gives-clues-to-whos-at-risk

https://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.ajp.21121266

Your Genetic Risk of Mental Health Disorders Can Determine Where You Live

There are different factors that determine a place where someone lives. Some of those factors include price, location, weather conditions, and even the genetic risk of mental health disorders. A study conducted by a research team from King’s College London were able to identify that there are genes that cause people to choose their living choice based off them. They suggested that there is a correlation between a person’s genes and their environment. The experiment was based on a polygenic risk score (PRS) conducted on about 300,000 UK citizens ages ranging from 37 to 73. The PRS allowed the team to examine the gene liability of every individual involved. From all those studied, there was a higher risk of bipolar disorder, anorexia, and autism and a lower risk for ADHD in people who moved from rural to urban locations. Those risk in being diagnosed with schizophrenia and ADHD are likely to live in cities. They were able to concluded that depending on one’s likelihood to develop a mental disorder can determine the place they live. 

https://medicalxpress.com/pdf554541231.pdf

https://www.genome.gov/Health/Genomics-and-Medicine/Polygenic-risk-scores