Background: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a trauma- or stressor-related mental health condition with high socioeconomic burden. We aimed in this review to identify promising genetic markers predisposing for PTSD, which might serve in the design subsequent studies aiming to develop PTSD prevention and remediation measures.
Subjects and methods: Our search queries in the PubMed database yielded 547 articles, of which 20 met our inclusion criteria for further analysis: published between 2018 and 2022, original research, containing molecular-genetic and statistical data, containing diagnosis verification methods, PTSD as a primary condition, and a sample of at least 60 patients.
Results: Among the 20 analyzed studies were reports of significant associations between PTSD and: FKBP5 variants rs9470080, regardless of the C or T allele; two FKBP5 haplotypes (A-G-C-C and A-G-C-T); gene-gene DRDхANNK1-COMT (rs1800497 × rs6269) and OXTR-DRD2 (rs2268498 × rs1801028); C-allele of CRHR1 (rs1724402). Other findings, such as the association of FKBP5 haplotypes (A-G-C-C, A-G-C-T) and the FKBP5-CRHR1 genotype, were of lesser statistical significance and less extensively studied.
Conclusions: Although our literature analysis implicates certain genetic factors in PTSD, our understanding of the polygenic nature underlying the disorder remains limited, especially considering the hitherto underexplored epigenetic mechanisms. Future research endeavors should prioritize exploring these aspects to provide a more nuanced understanding of PTSD and its genetic underpinnings.
Keywords: ADCYAP1R – CRHR1/2 – DRD2/4 – FKBP5 – genetic markers – neuropsychiatry – NR3C1 – post-traumatic stress disorder – PTSD – review – SLC6A4.