Shared genetic architecture between premenstrual disorder symptoms and major psychiatric disorders suggests a role for calcium signaling.

BACKGROUND

Major psychiatric disorders (MPDs) and premenstrual disorders (PMDs) are often comorbid, with indications of shared genetic architecture. However, the specific genetic variants underlying this comorbidity remain elusive. The aim of this study was to identify genomic loci shared between MPDs and PMDs, and to assess the functional characteristics of genes mapped to these loci.

METHODS

We used genome-wide association data for symptoms of PMDs (S-PMD, n = 67 068) from the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study (MoBa), and for MPDs (schizophrenia, n = 130 644; bipolar disorder, n = 827 335; major depression, n = 1 918 432) from the Psychiatric Genomic Consortium. Shared genetic loci were identified with the conjunctional false discovery rate (conjFDR). Genes mapped to the identified loci were included in functional and pharmacological gene-set enrichment analyses (GSEAs).

RESULTS

We identified 20 loci shared between S-PMD and the MPDs, including 19 novel loci for S-PMD (conjFDR<0.05). GSEA revealed genes involved in calcium signaling and neuronal projection pathways. The drug enrichment analysis identified 36 drugs, including riluzole and mianserin, significantly associated with the identified molecular pathways.

CONCLUSIONS

We identified 20 genetic loci shared between the S-PMD and MPDs, implicating calcium transmission in the pathogenesis of PMDs. Together with the drug enrichment results, this provides a biological basis for repurposing existing drugs in the treatment of PMD.