Citation

Womersley JS, Martin L, van der Merwe L, Seedat S, Hemmings SMJ. Anxiety Stress Coping 2021; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/10615806.2021.1876225

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Anxiety sensitivity (AS) refers to a fear of the negative implications of anxiety, and arises due to gene-environment interactions. We investigated whether genetic variation in two neuropeptides implicated in the stress response, neuropeptide Y (NPY) and pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide receptor 1, interacted with childhood trauma (CT) to influence AS. DESIGN AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study examined the CT x genetic variant effects on AS in 951 adolescents who self-identified as Xhosa or South African Colored (SAC) ethnicity.

RESULTS: In Xhosa females, the NPY rs5573 A allele and rs3037354 deletion variant were associated with increased (p = 0.035) and decreased (p = 0.034) AS, respectively. The interaction of CT and the NPY rs5574 A allele increased AS in SAC female participants (p = 0.043). The rs3037354 deletion variant protected against AS with increased CT in SAC male participants (p = 0.011).

CONCLUSIONS: The NPY rs5574 A allele and rs3037354 deletion variant interact with CT to act as risk and protective factors, respectively, for AS in an ethnicity- and sex- differentiated manner. Our results reaffirm the role of NPY and gene-environment interactions in anxiety-related behaviors and reinforce the need for psychiatric genetics studies in diverse populations.

Language: en

Keywords

Anxiety; genetics; childhood trauma; gene-environment; neuropeptide Y; pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide