ABSTRACT
Mental disorders are leading causes of disability and premature death worldwide, partly due to high comorbidity with cardiometabolic disorders. Reasons for this comorbidity are still poorly understood. We leverage nation-wide health records and near-complete genealogies of Denmark and Sweden (n = 17 million) to reveal the genetic and environmental contributions underlying the observed comorbidity between six mental disorders and 15 cardiometabolic disorders. Genetic factors contributed about 50% to the comorbidity of schizophrenia, affective disorders, and autism spectrum disorder with cardiometabolic disorders, whereas the comorbidity of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and anorexia with cardiometabolic disorders was mainly or fully driven by environmental factors. In this work we provide causal insight to guide clinical and scientific initiatives directed at achieving mechanistic understanding as well as preventing and alleviating the consequences of these disorders.
Subject(s)
Cardiovascular Diseases , Comorbidity , Mental Disorders , Humans , Mental Disorders/genetics , Mental Disorders/epidemiology , Male , Denmark/epidemiology , Sweden/epidemiology , Female , Cardiovascular Diseases/genetics , Cardiovascular Diseases/epidemiology , Autism Spectrum Disorder/genetics , Autism Spectrum Disorder/epidemiology , Metabolic Diseases/genetics , Metabolic Diseases/epidemiology , Adult , Gene-Environment Interaction , Schizophrenia/genetics , Schizophrenia/epidemiology , Middle Aged , Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity/genetics , Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity/epidemiology , Scandinavians and Nordic PeopleABSTRACT
Mental disorders (MDs) are leading causes of disability and premature death worldwide, partly due to high comorbidity with cardiometabolic disorders (CMDs). Reasons for this comorbidity are still poorly understood. We leverage nation-wide health records and complete genealogies of Denmark and Sweden (n=17 million) to reveal the genetic and environmental contributions underlying the observed comorbidity between six MDs and 14 CMDs. Genetic factors contributed about 50% to the comorbidity of schizophrenia, affective disorders, and autism spectrum disorder with CMDs, whereas the comorbidity of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and anorexia with CMDs was mainly or fully driven by environmental factors. These findings provide causal insight to guide clinical and scientific initiatives directed at achieving mechanistic understanding as well as preventing and alleviating the consequences of these disorders.
