GWAS of Suicide Attempt in Psychiatric Disorders and Association With Major Depression Polygenic Risk Scores

What is it about?

Previous studies have established that suicide attempt is partially heritable, however the specific genes and genetic variants involved remain unknown. Here we compare the frequency of common genetic variants across the entire genome in 6,569 suicide attempters versus 17,232 non-attempters with depression, bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. Three genetic variants were observed at significantly increased frequency in the suicide attempter group, however this finding was not replicated in two independent follow-up samples. A combined measure of genetic variants known to be associated with major depression, called a polygenic risk score, was significantly higher in suicide attempters than non-attempters in each of the three psychiatric disorders studied. This study provides new information on genetic associations and the genetic etiology of suicide attempt across psychiatric disorders.

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