Case Control Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2023. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Psychiatry. Jul 19, 2023; 13(7): 435-443
Published online Jul 19, 2023. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v13.i7.435
Glutamate decarboxylase 1 gene polymorphisms are associated with respiratory symptoms in panic disorder
Zhi-Li Zou, Jian Qiu, Xiao-Bo Zhou, Yu-Lan Huang, Jin-Yu Wang, Bo Zhou, Yuan Zhang
Zhi-Li Zou, Jian Qiu, Xiao-Bo Zhou, Yu-Lan Huang, Jin-Yu Wang, Bo Zhou, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences & Sichuan Provincial People’s Hospital, Chengdu 610000, Sichuan Province, China
Yuan Zhang, Personalized Drug Therapy Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences & Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, Chengdu 610072, Sichuan Province, China
Author contributions: Zou ZL contributed to study design, manuscript preparation; Qiu J contributed to experiment performance and data collection; Zhou XB, Huang YL, Wang JY contributed to data collection, analysis and inspection; Zhou B contributed to fund acquisition; Zhang Y contributed to manuscript preparation, inspection and revision.
Institutional review board statement: The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Sichuan Provincial People’s Hospital [reference number: (2016) Ethics Review (29)]. All participants provided written informed consent before the initiation of study procedures.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors report no conflict of interest.
Data sharing statement: Data is available on request due to privacy/ethical restrictions.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement–checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement – checklist of items.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Yuan Zhang, MS, Assistant Professor, Personalized Drug Therapy Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences & Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, No. 32 West Second Section First Ring Road, Chengdu 610072, Sichuan Province, China. 447415054@qq.com
Received: April 12, 2023
Peer-review started: April 12, 2023
First decision: May 12, 2023
Revised: May 18, 2023
Accepted: May 31, 2023
Article in press: May 31, 2023
Published online: July 19, 2023
Processing time: 97 Days and 9.8 Hours
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Research background

Genetic factors are known to play a significant role in the development of panic disorder (PD). However, the impact of genetic variants on PD is still a subject of controversy.

Research motivation

γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) is an important neurotransmitter that inhibits brain activity. Previous reports have linked the glutamate decarboxylase 1 (GAD1) genetic variants to various psychiatric disorders, including bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and heroin dependence. However, few studies have examined the relationship between GAD1 and PD, particularly in Chinese populations.

Research objectives

The main objectives of this study were to examine the associations between GAD1 gene polymorphisms (rs1978340 and rs3749034) and PD risk, and to determine the effect of these polymorphisms on the severity of clinical symptoms, specifically respiratory symptoms, in individuals with PD.

Research methods

The study included a total of 230 PD patients and 224 healthy controls. All participants underwent assessments for anxiety and panic symptom severity using the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A) and Panic Disorder Severity Scale (PDSS). The GAD1 gene polymorphisms (rs1978340 and rs3749034) were genotyped, and allele frequencies were analyzed.

Research results

The study findings revealed no significant differences in the genotype distributions or allele frequencies of GAD1 (rs1978340 and rs3749034) between the PD cases and the control group. Furthermore, the GAD1 gene polymorphisms (rs1978340 and rs3749034) did not exhibit a significant effect on the overall severity of PD. However, in relation to respiratory symptoms, PD patients with the GAD1 rs1978340 A/A genotype demonstrated significantly higher scores compared to those with the A/G or G/G genotype.

Research conclusions

In conclusion, this study demonstrated that the A/A genotype of GAD1 rs1978340 is associated with increased severity of respiratory symptoms in individuals with PD. However, no significant associations were found between GAD1 gene polymorphisms and the risk of developing PD or the overall severity of the disorder.

Research perspectives

Further research is needed to explore other potential genetic factors involved in the development and severity of PD. Additionally, investigating the underlying mechanisms through which GAD1 gene polymorphisms affect respiratory symptoms in PD patients could provide valuable insights for future studies.