Genome-wide association analyses identify 95 risk loci and provide insights into the neurobiology of post-traumatic stress disorder
Caroline M. Nievergelt, Adam X. Maihofer, Elizabeth G. Atkinson, Chia‐Yen Chen, Karmel W. Choi, Jonathan R. I. Coleman, Nikolaos P. Daskalakis, Laramie E. Duncan, Renato Polimanti, Cindy Aaronson, Ananda B. Amstadter, Søren Bo Andersen, Ole A. Andreassen, Paul A. Arbisi, Allison E. Ashley‐Koch, S. Bryn Austin, Esmina Avdibegović, Dragan Babić, Silviu‐Alin Bacanu, Dewleen G. Baker, Anthony Batzler, Jean C. Beckham, Síntia Belangero, Corina Benjet, Carisa Bergner, Linda M. Bierer, Joanna M. Biernacka, Laura J. Bierut, Jonathan I. Bisson, Marco P. Boks, Elizabeth Bolger, Amber Brandolino, Gerome Breen, Rodrigo A. Bressan, Richard A. Bryant, Angela C. Bustamante, Jonas Bybjerg‐Grauholm, Marie Bækvad‐Hansen, Anders D. Børglum, Sigrid Børte, Leah Cahn, Joseph R. Calabrese, José Miguel Caldas‐de‐Almeida, Chris Chatzinakos, Sheraz Cheema, Sean Clouston, Lucía Colodro‐Conde, Brandon J. Coombes, Carlos S. Cruz-Fuentes, Anders M. Dale, Shareefa Dalvie, Lea K. Davis, Jürgen Deckert, Douglas L. Delahanty, Michelle F. Dennis, Frank Désarnaud, Christopher P. DiPietro, Seth G. Disner, Anna R. Docherty, Katharina Domschke, Grete Dyb, Alma Džubur Kulenović, Howard J. Edenberg, Alexandra Evans, Chiara Fabbri, Negar Fani, Lindsay A. Farrer, Adriana Feder, Norah C. Feeny, Janine D. Flory, David Forbes, Carol E. Franz, Sandro Galea, Melanie E. Garrett, Bizu Gelaye, Joel Gelernter, Elbert Geuze, Charles F. Gillespie, Slavina B. Goleva, Scott D. Gordon, Afërdita Goçi, Lana Ruvolo Grasser, Camila Guindalini, Magali Haas, Saskia P. Hagenaars, Michael A. Hauser, Andrew C. Heath, Sian Hemmings, Victor Hesselbrock, Ian B. Hickie, Kelleigh Hogan, David M. Hougaard, Hailiang Huang, Laura M. Huckins, Kristian Hveem, Miro Jakovljević, Arash Javanbakht, Gregory D. Jenkins, Jessica Johnson, Ian Jones
Abstract
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) genetics are characterized by lower discoverability than most other psychiatric disorders. The contribution to biological understanding from previous genetic studies has thus been limited. We performed a multi-ancestry meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies across 1,222,882 individuals of European ancestry (137,136 cases) and 58,051 admixed individuals with African and Native American ancestry (13,624 cases). We identified 95 genome-wide significant loci (80 new). Convergent multi-omic approaches identified 43 potential causal genes, broadly classified as neurotransmitter and ion channel synaptic modulators (for example, GRIA1, GRM8 and CACNA1E), developmental, axon guidance and transcription factors (for example, FOXP2, EFNA5 and DCC), synaptic structure and function genes (for example, PCLO, NCAM1 and PDE4B) and endocrine or immune regulators (for example, ESR1, TRAF3 and TANK). Additional top genes influence stress, immune, fear and threat-related processes, previously hypothesized to underlie PTSD neurobiology. These findings strengthen our understanding of neurobiological systems relevant to PTSD pathophysiology, while also opening new areas for investigation.