Genetic risk-factors for anxiety in healthy individuals: polymorphisms in genes important for the HPA axis
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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Open Access
Genetic risk-factors for anxiety in healthy individuals: polymorphisms in genes important for the HPA axis Heléne Lindholm1, India Morrison2, Alexandra Krettek3,4,5, Dan Malm6, Giovanni Novembre2 and Linda Handlin1*
Abstract Background: Two important aspects for the development of anxiety disorders are genetic predisposition and alterations in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. In order to identify genetic risk-factors for anxiety, the aim of this exploratory study was to investigate possible relationships between genetic polymorphisms in genes important for the regulation and activity of the HPA axis and self-assessed anxiety in healthy individuals. Methods: DNA from 72 healthy participants, 37 women and 35 men, were included in the analyses. Their DNA was extracted and analysed for the following Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNP)s: rs41423247 in the NR3C1 gene, rs1360780 in the FKBP5 gene, rs53576 in the OXTR gene, 5-HTTLPR in SLC6A4 gene and rs6295 in the HTR1A gene. Self-assessed anxiety was measured by the State and Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) questionnaire. Results: Self-assessed measure of both STAI-S and STAI-T were significantly higher in female than in male participants (p = 0.030 and p = 0.036, respectively). For SNP rs41423247 in the NR3C1 gene, there was a significant difference in females in the score for STAI-S, where carriers of the G allele had higher scores compared to the females that were homozygous for the C allele (p < 0.01). For the SNP rs53576 in the OXTR gene, there was a significant difference in males, where carriers of the A allele had higher scores in STAI-T compared to the males that were homozygous for the G allele (p < 0.01). Conclusion: This study shows that SNP rs41423247 in the NR3C1 gene and SNP rs53576 in the OXTR gene are associated with self-assessed anxiety in healthy individuals in a gender-specific manner. This suggests that these SNP candidates are possible genetic risk-factors for anxiety. Keywords: Anxiety, Stress, HPA axis, Polymorphism, STAI
Background Anxiety disorders are complex disorders defined by excess worry, hyperarousal, and fear that are counterproductive and debilitating [1]. Such disorders globally associate with socio-economic disadvantages, high demands at work, relationship difficulties, trauma and conflict [2], indicating that stressful events are major contributors to the development * Correspondence: [email protected] 1 Department of Biomedicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Skövde, Box 408, 54128 Skövde, Sweden Full list of author information is available at the end of the article
of anxiety disorders. The biological bases of these disorders depend partly on alterations in the hypothalamic-pituitaryadrenal axis (HPA axis). The HPA axis coordinates bodily reactions to stressful events and restores homeostasis. In response to stress, a hormonal cascade is triggered in the hypothalamus, where the release of corticotrophinreleasing hormone (CRH) stimulates the secretion of adrenocorticotr
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