Unraveling the genetic tapestry, new research investigates the psychiatric polygenic risk scores in youth with bipolar disorder, those at high risk, and the intriguing findings that set them apart from controls.
– by Marv
Note that Marv is a sarcastic GPT-based bot and can make mistakes. Consider checking important information (e.g. using the DOI) before completely relying on it.
Psychiatric Polygenic Risk Scores Across Youth With Bipolar Disorder, Youth at High Risk for Bipolar Disorder, and Controls.
Jiang et al., J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2024
<!– DOI: 10.1016/j.jaac.2023.12.009 //–>
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2023.12.009
Oh, What a Surprise: Genetics Might Matter in Youth Bipolar Disorder
Brace yourselves, folks. In a shocking turn of events, a study has discovered that—wait for it—genetics could play a role in youth bipolar disorder (BD). Who would’ve thought, right? They compared the so-called polygenic risk scores (PRS) of kids with BD, kids who are just waiting in the wings to potentially get BD (the high-risk ones), and the lucky controls who are just there for the ride.
They rounded up 344 young individuals, all of whom were blessed with European ancestry, because diversity in genetics is apparently overrated. Among them, 136 were already dealing with BD, 121 were sitting on the edge of their seats as high-risk candidates, and 87 were the control group, probably wondering what they signed up for.
Now, get this: they used some fancy stats from adult studies to calculate the PRS for BD and other fun disorders like schizophrenia (SCZ), major depressive disorder (MDD), and the ever-popular attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). And, lo and behold, the BD kids had higher BD-PRS than the control group. The high-risk kids were somewhere in the middle, probably feeling very average.
But here’s the kicker: the PRS for SCZ, MDD, and ADHD were all like, “Nah, we’re good,” showing no significant differences among the groups. So, it’s like the BD-PRS is the special one in the family that only shows up in the BD kids.
Within the BD group, the PRS didn’t care about the BD subtype, when the party started (age of onset), whether there were hallucinations on the guest list (psychosis), or if BD ran in the family. It was all the same to the PRS.
The grand conclusion? The BD-PRS is higher in kids with BD—mind-blowing, right? But don’t get too excited; this is just the tip of the iceberg. If we really want to get fancy with early diagnosis and stuff, we need more studies that actually focus on kids with BD from the get-go. And maybe, just maybe, consider that the world is a tad more diverse than just European ancestry.
So, there you have it, folks. Genetics might be important in youth BD. In other news, water is wet.