Genetic Vulnerability and Mental Health After Mild Traumatic Brain Injury
Author Information
Author(s): Kals Mart, Wilson Lindsay, Levey Daniel F., Parodi Livia, Steyerberg Ewout W., Richardson Sylvia, He Feng, Sun Xiaoying, Jain Sonia, Palotie Aarno, Ripatti Samuli, Rosand Jonathan, Manley Geoff T., Maas Andrew I.R., Stein Murray B., Menon David K.
Primary Institution: Estonian Genome Center, Institute of Genomics, University of Tartu
Hypothesis
Are polygenic risk scores for PTSD and major depressive disorder associated with the development of related mental health issues following mild traumatic brain injury?
Conclusion
The study found that polygenic risk scores for PTSD and depression are associated with increased odds of developing these conditions after mild traumatic brain injury.
Supporting Evidence
- 11.8% of patients were classified as having probable PTSD and 6.7% as having depression.
- The PTSD-PRS was significantly associated with higher adjusted odds of PTSD with a pooled odds ratio of 1.55.
- The MDD-PRS increased the risk of depression after TBI with a pooled odds ratio of 1.26.
- Patients in the highest cognate PRS quintile had increased odds of 3.16 for developing PTSD compared to the lowest quintile.
- The addition of PRSs improved the proportion of outcome variance explained for PTSD and depression.
Takeaway
Some people are more likely to feel sad or scared after a mild brain injury because of their genes, and this study looked at how those genes affect mental health.
Methodology
Meta-analyses were conducted using data from two multicenter, prospective observational cohort studies of patients with mild traumatic brain injury.
Potential Biases
Self-reported psychiatric history may be subject to recall and reporting bias.
Limitations
The study only included patients aged over 17 years and those with a Glasgow Coma Scale score of 13-15, which may limit the generalizability of the findings.
Participant Demographics
The study included 65.7% males with a mean age of 50.6 years in CENTER-TBI and 44.5 years in TRACK-TBI.
Statistical Information
P-Value
p<0.001
Confidence Interval
95% CI 1.30–1.84
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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