Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42888321›Full record

SynthesisHuman genetics2026

Gene-based association analysis of depression risk among European ancestry Parkinson's disease patients.

Hanwen Wang, Kimberly Paul, Cynthia Kusters, Christina M Lill, Jin Zhou, Jeff Bronstein, Beate Ritz

Abstract readMeta-Analysis
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Human genetics, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Hanwen WangDepartment of Epidemiology, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1277-0742
Kimberly PaulDepartment of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4476-2352
Cynthia KustersDepartment of Epidemiology, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8099-9026
Christina M LillInstitute of Epidemiology and Social Medicine, University of Münster, Münster, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2805-1307
Jin ZhouDepartment of Biostatistics, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7983-0274
Jeff BronsteinDepartment of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2961-8918
Beate RitzDepartment of Epidemiology, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA, USA. britz@ucla.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6976-7339

Funding

German Research Foundation DFG; FOR2488/1: GZ LI 2654/2-1Heisenberg program of the DFG DFG; LI 2654/4-1
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Depression is one of the most common and disabling non-motor symptoms in Parkinson's disease (PD), yet its genetic basis remains poorly understood. Here, we investigate the genetic contributions to depression in PD by estimating the burden from common as well as low-frequency single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within genes previously implicated in PD or depression risk among European ancestry PD patients from three population-based studies. Using gene-based association analyses (SKAT, Burden, and SKAT-O) in the PASIDA, PEG, and PPMI studies, we evaluated SNP sets in gene regions previously linked to PD or depression. Among PD-related genes, meta-analysis identified a significant association between KRTCAP2 and self-reported depression diagnosis in PD (SKAT-O p = 4.33 × 10⁻⁵), which remained significant after false discovery rate correction. A higher genetic burden in KRTCAP2 was associated with 20% increased odds of depression (OR = 1.20, 95% CI: 1.04-1.38). TRAF5 and LRRK2 showed marginal associations. Among depression-related genes, SPPL3 and ERBB4 were associated with depression diagnosis history, and FNIP2 was associated with current depressive symptoms. The PD polygenic risk score was not associated with depression in PD, while a higher depression polygenic risk score was significantly associated with increased odds of depression diagnosis in both cohorts and the meta-analysis (OR = 1.26, 95% CI: 1.13-1.40). Our findings highlight immune-related genes such as KRTCAP2 and TRAF5 as potential contributors to depression in PD. Additionally, the depression PRS shows statistically significant association with depression diagnosis in PD, suggesting that a general depression-related genetic liability contributes to this non-motor feature in PD. Together, these results suggest that depression in PD may involve both shared and disease-specific genetic mechanisms, offering new insights into its pathogenesis and potential therapeutic targets.

Indexed as

DepressionGenetic Predisposition to DiseaseParkinson DiseaseWhite PeopleAgedEuropean PeopleFemaleGenetic Association StudiesGenome-Wide Association StudyHumansMaleMiddle AgedPolymorphism, Single NucleotideRisk Factors

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.