Uncovering the Genetic Links Between Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Psychiatric Disorders: Insights from a Groundbreaking Study

2023-08-16 23:02:00

Irritable bowel syndrome shares gene clusters with depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and generalized anxiety, shows a study published in August 2023 in the journal BMC – Genome Medicine.

Gastrointestinal disease affects approximately 10% of the population. Symptoms range from abdominal pain to constipation and diarrhea. The disease often significantly impairs the quality of life.

The syndrome is often considered to be psychosomatic, since no signs of pathology are detected during examination of the intestines.

Previous studies have identified genetic correlations between irritable bowel syndrome and psychiatric disorders. (Irritable bowel syndrome linked to more depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety…

In the current study, Norwegian researchers from the universities of Bergen and Oslo identified thousands of genetic variants shared between the syndrome and different psychiatric disorders.

Markos Tesfaye and Ole Andreassen, together with their colleagues, analyzed data from more than 50,000 people with the syndrome and more than 430,000 people without the syndrome.

They identified 116 new genomic risk loci for the syndrome. Genomic loci are specific locations in the DNA sequence that often include a group of variants.

They identified 70 unique loci that are shared between irritable bowel syndrome and different psychiatric disorders:

Many loci linked to irritable bowel syndrome are also involved in the regulation of the nervous system.

“This discovery sheds new light on the brain-gut axis and is a new step in the search for an effective treatment for irritable bowel syndrome,” the researchers conclude.

“The question of whether and how intestinal problems can lead to the development of psychiatric illnesses is beyond the scope of this article,” the researchers’ statement said.

“But some researchers have reported that inflammation of the gut can lead to disruption of the gut barrier and leakage of bacterial products into the bloodstream, which in turn can reduce the permeability of the blood-brain barrier and therefore affect the brain,” emphasizes Tesfaye. This may become a topic for future studies.

Genetic differences may underlie clinical subtypes of irritable bowel syndrome, the researchers also found. These results might serve as a basis for the development of personalized interventions.

For more information, see the links below.

Psychomedia with sources: University of Bergen, BMC – Genome Medicine.
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