Genomic study of the link between obesity and depression

The study involved scientists from the Computational Medicine Platform of the Progreso y Salud Foundation, an organization dependent on the Ministry of Health and Consumer Affairs of the Government of Andalusia, as well as ibs.GRANADA and the Genyo center. By analyzing the genomic data obtained in this collaborative work, 55 genetic variants were identified that are associated with the relationship between depression and obesity, diseases that are often comorbid, that is, they coexist in the same person.

This study, the results of which were published in Molecular Psychiatry by Natureis the first to use genomic sequencing to analyze the comorbidity between both pathologies. In this sense, the scientists sequenced certain genomic regions of interest in depression and obesity in a group of 654 people.

The results described the genetic profile underlying this comorbidity, contributing to increased knowledge about the relationship between the two diseases.

Saliva samples

To conduct this study, scientists used saliva samples from 654 people, including some who were obese, some who were depressed, some who had both conditions, and some who did not have either condition.

Using next-generation sequencing technology, which can capture many types of genetic variations, 55 common variants associated with depression and obesity were identified. In addition, multiple rare variants were found in four specific genes that support comorbidity between the two conditions.

Depression and obesity are among the leading causes of disability, morbidity, and mortality worldwide. Although suffering from either condition independently represents a significant personal burden and has public health implications, the fact that they co-occur contributes to the worsening of the situation, so understanding the nature of their relationship represents a challenge in preventive and personalized medicine, according to the researchers of this work.

This study established a link between depression and obesity, and there are studies that confirm a bidirectional relationship between these two common pathologies. Studies show that people with depression are more likely to be obese than those who are not. Likewise, people with obesity are more likely to develop depression than people of normal weight. Despite this, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear, hence the importance of this study.

Bibliographic reference:

Perez-Gutierrez A.M., Carmona R., Lucera C. et al. Mutational Landscape of Risk Variants in Comorbid Depression and Obesity: A Next-Generation Sequencing Approach. Mol Psychiatry (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-024-02609-2

Fountain: UGR