Air pollution interacts with genetic risk to influence cortical networks implicated in depression

• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2109310118
• Publication Date: 2021-11-08T21:26:07Z
• Authors: Zhi Li; Hao Yan; Xiao Zhang; Shefali Shah; Guang Yang; Qiang Chen; Shizhong Han; Dai Zhang; Daniel R. Weinberger; Weihua Yue; Hao Yang Tan
• Keywords: Depression; Genome-wide Association Study

Significance Air pollution is ubiquitous and may increase neuropsychiatric risk, including for depression. However, the neural underpinnings whether this environmental risk acts independently or interactively with genetic mechanisms are not well understood. In healthy individuals exposed to significant air pollution, we find that combined high exposures relatively polygenic depression disproportionately augmented stress-related effects on brain circuitry. The coexpression of depression-associated genes across tracked corresponding connectivity, driven by higher pollution. These findings add mechanistic understanding processes implicated in how be particularly vulnerable