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Medical and neurobehavioural phenotypes in carriers of X-linked ichthyosis-associated genetic deletions in the UK Biobank

Brcic, Lucija, Underwood, Jack ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1731-6039, Kendall, Kimberley ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6755-6121, Caseras, Xavier ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8490-6891, Kirov, George ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3427-3950 and Davies, William ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7714-2440 2020. Medical and neurobehavioural phenotypes in carriers of X-linked ichthyosis-associated genetic deletions in the UK Biobank. Journal of Medical Genetics 57 (10) , pp. 692-698. 10.1136/jmedgenet-2019-106676

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Abstract

Background X-linked ichthyosis (XLI) is an uncommon dermatological condition resulting from a deficiency of the enzyme steroid sulfatase (STS), often caused by X-linked deletions spanning STS. Some medical comorbidities have been identified in XLI cases, but small samples of relatively young patients has limited this. STS is highly expressed in subcortical brain structures, and males with XLI and female deletion carriers appear at increased risk of developmental/mood disorders and associated traits; the neurocognitive basis of these findings has not been examined. Methods Using the UK Biobank resource, comprising participants aged 40–69 years recruited from the general UK population, we compared multiple medical/neurobehavioural phenotypes in males (n=86) and females (n=312) carrying genetic deletions spanning STS (0.8–2.5 Mb) (cases) to male (n=190 577) and female (n=227 862) non-carrier controls. Results We identified an elevated rate of atrial fibrillation/flutter in male deletion carriers (10.5% vs 2.7% in male controls, Benjamini-Hochberg corrected p=0.009), and increased rates of mental distress (p=0.003), irritability (p<0.001) and depressive-anxiety traits (p<0.05) in male deletion carriers relative to male controls completing the Mental Health Questionnaire. While academic attainment was unaffected, male and female deletion carriers exhibited impaired performance on the Fluid Intelligence Test (Cohen’s d≤0.05, corrected p<0.1). Neuroanatomical analysis in female deletion carriers indicated reduced right putamen and left nucleus accumbens volumes (Cohen’s d≤0.26, corrected p<0.1). Conclusion Adult males with XLI disease-causing deletions are apparently at increased risk of cardiac arrhythmias and self-reported mood problems; altered basal ganglia structure may underlie altered function and XLI-associated psychiatric/behavioural phenotypes. These results provide information for genetic counselling of deletion-carrying individuals and reinforce the need for multidisciplinary medical care.

Item Type: Article
Date Type: Publication
Status: Published
Schools: Psychology
Medicine
Neuroscience and Mental Health Research Institute (NMHRI)
MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics (CNGG)
Publisher: BMJ Publishing Group
ISSN: 0022-2593
Funders: MRD and Wellcome Trust
Date of First Compliant Deposit: 23 January 2020
Date of Acceptance: 23 January 2020
Last Modified: 28 Sep 2023 22:20
URI: https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/128948

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