TY - JOUR
T1 - Shared genetic factors of anxiety and depression symptoms in a Brazilian family-based cohort, the Baependi heart study
AU - Taporoski, Tâmara P.
AU - Negrão, André B.
AU - Horimoto, Andréa R.V.R.
AU - Duarte, Nubia E.
AU - Alvim, Rafael O.
AU - De Oliveira, Camila M.
AU - Krieger, José E.
AU - Von Schantz, Malcolm
AU - Vallada, Homero
AU - Pereira, Alexandre C.
N1 - Funding information: This study was supported by grants from Fundação de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP, 2013/17368-0, to ACP), from Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq, 400791/2014-5), Special Visiting Scientist grant to HV on behalf of MvS, and from Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior-Programa de Excelência (CAPES-PROEX, to TPT and 1322/08 to ABN). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
PY - 2015/12/9
Y1 - 2015/12/9
N2 - To investigate the phenotypic and genetic overlap between anxiety and depression symptoms in an admixed population from extended family pedigrees. Participants (n = 1,375) were recruited from a cohort of 93 families (mean age±SD 42±16.3, 57% female) in the rural town of Baependi, Brazil. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was used to assess depression and anxiety symptoms. Heritability estimates were obtained by an adjusted variance component model. Bivariate analyses were performed to obtain the partition of the covariance of anxiety and depression into genetic and environmental components, and to calculate the genetic contribution modulating both sets of symptoms. Anxiety and depression scores were 7.49±4.01 and 5.70±3.82, respectively. Mean scores were affected by age and were significantly higher in women. Heritability for depression and anxiety, corrected for age and sex, were 0.30 and 0.32, respectively. Significant genetic correlations (ρg = 0.81) were found between anxiety and depression scores; thus, nearly 66% of the total genetic variance in one set of symptoms was shared with the other set. Our results provided strong evidence for a genetic overlap between anxiety and depression symptoms, which has relevance for our understanding of the biological basis of these constructs and could be exploited in genome-wide association studies.
AB - To investigate the phenotypic and genetic overlap between anxiety and depression symptoms in an admixed population from extended family pedigrees. Participants (n = 1,375) were recruited from a cohort of 93 families (mean age±SD 42±16.3, 57% female) in the rural town of Baependi, Brazil. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was used to assess depression and anxiety symptoms. Heritability estimates were obtained by an adjusted variance component model. Bivariate analyses were performed to obtain the partition of the covariance of anxiety and depression into genetic and environmental components, and to calculate the genetic contribution modulating both sets of symptoms. Anxiety and depression scores were 7.49±4.01 and 5.70±3.82, respectively. Mean scores were affected by age and were significantly higher in women. Heritability for depression and anxiety, corrected for age and sex, were 0.30 and 0.32, respectively. Significant genetic correlations (ρg = 0.81) were found between anxiety and depression scores; thus, nearly 66% of the total genetic variance in one set of symptoms was shared with the other set. Our results provided strong evidence for a genetic overlap between anxiety and depression symptoms, which has relevance for our understanding of the biological basis of these constructs and could be exploited in genome-wide association studies.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84961347939&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1371/journal.pone.0144255
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0144255
M3 - Article
C2 - 26650098
AN - SCOPUS:84961347939
SN - 1932-6203
VL - 10
JO - PLoS One
JF - PLoS One
IS - 12
M1 - 0144255
ER -
