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Meta-analysis of genome-wide association data identifies a risk locus for major mood disorders on 3p21.1
Francis J McMahon1, Nirmala Akula, Thomas G Schulze
1Unit on the Genetic Basis of Mood & Anxiety Disorders, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, Maryland, USA. mcmahonf@mail.nih.gov
Abstract:
The major mood disorders, which include bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder (MDD), are considered heritable traits, although previous genetic association studies have had limited success in robustly identifying risk loci. We performed a meta-analysis of five case-control cohorts for major mood disorder, including over 13,600 individuals genotyped on high-density SNP arrays. We identified SNPs at 3p21.1 associated with major mood disorders (rs2251219, P = 3.63 x 10(-8); odds ratio = 0.87; 95% confidence interval, 0.83-0.92), with supportive evidence for association observed in two out of three independent replication cohorts. These results provide an example of a shared genetic susceptibility locus for bipolar disorder and MDD.
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