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A study published in JAMA reports that adults are
more likely to have posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms if they have
been abused as a child and have variations of a gene that is related to
stress response. The investigation was conducted by Rebekah G. Bradley,
Ph.D. (Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta) and colleagues.
Providing background information, the authors write: "Posttraumatic
stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating stress-related psychiatric
disorder, with prevalence rates of at least 7 percent to 8 percent in
the U.S. population, and with much higher rates among combat veterans
and those living in high-violence areas. Initially viewed as a
potentially normative response to traumatic exposure, it became clear
that not everyone experiencing trauma develops PTSD. Thus, a central
question in research on PTSD is why some individuals are more likely
than others to develop the disorder in the face of similar levels of
trauma exposure."
Recent research has suggested that the psychological risk to the
traumatized individual is due to both genetic and environmental
factors, and child abuse is predicted to significantly increase the
risk of developing PTSD.
Dr. Bradley and colleagues set out to investigate how polymorphisms
(gene variations) of the gene FKBP5 predict PTSD
symptoms in highly traumatized, low-income men and women who live in an
urban area. FKBP5 is one of the genes related to
stress response, and the researchers were interested in predicting
adulthood PTSD symptoms by analyzing whether the FKBP5
polymorphisms interacted with increasing levels of both child abuse and
other types of trauma exposure.
The sample consisted of 900 general medical clinical patients who had
significant levels of child abuse and other types of traumatic
experiences. The researchers examined genetic and psychological risk
factors using a survey and genetic testing (single-nucleotide
polymorphism [Buy generic lasix SNP] genotyping). Study participants were low-income
black men and women who lived in urban areas during 2005 and 2007. They
were seeking care in the general medical or OB/GYN clinics of an urban
public hospital.
Bradley and colleagues found that adult PTSD symptoms could be
independently predicted by the level of child abuse and level of other
types of trauma. The genetic analysis found that the variations of FKBP5
did not directly predict PTSD symptoms or predict PTSD symptom severity
when interacted with levels of non-child abuse trauma. However, the
researchers were able to predict adulthood PTSD symptoms by using four
genetic variations in the FKBP5 locus (where the
gene is on its chromosome) that did significantly interact with the
severity of child abuse. After controlling for depression severity
scores, age, sex, levels of non-child-abuse trauma, and genetic
ancestry, the gene-environment interaction was still significant.
"The most novel and important finding of our study was the interaction
between FKBP5 polymorphisms and child abuse history
to predict the levels of adult PTSD symptoms," conclude the authors.
"These genotypes potentially serve as predictors of both risk and
resilience for adult PTSD among survivors of child physical and sexual abuse."
Association of FKBP5 Polymorphisms and
Childhood Abuse With Risk of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms in
Adults
Elisabeth B. Binder, MD, PhD; Rebekah G. Bradley, PhD; Wei Liu, PhD;
Michael P. Epstein, PhD; Todd C. Deveau, BS; Kristina B. Mercer, MPH;
Yilang Tang, MD, PhD; Charles F. Gillespie, MD, PhD; Christine M. Heim,
PhD; Charles B. Nemeroff, MD, PhD; Ann C. Schwartz, MD; Joseph F.
Cubells, MD, PhD; Kerry J. Ressler, MD, PhD
JAMA (2008). 299[11]:1291-1305.
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Here to View Abstract
Written by: Peter M Crosta
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today
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