Investigation of genetic correlation between Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Inflamatory Bowel Diseases

• Grant number: 25/22067-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: December 01, 2025
• End date: June 30, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine - Psychiatry
• Principal Investigator: Carolina Muniz Felix de Carvalho
• Grantee: Juliana Harumi Saito
• Host Institution: Escola Paulista de Medicina (EPM). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus São Paulo. São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBDs) are complex conditions significantly influenced by genetic and environmental components. Although clinically distinct, both disorders involve dysregulation of the immune system responses to chronic stress, suggesting a potential genetic correlation and pleiotropic effects between PTSD and IBDs using publicly available Genome-Wide Association Study (GWAS) data for these traits in european ancestry populations. The analysis will estimate genetic correlation via Linkage Disequilibrium Score Regression (LDSC), identify pleiotropic variants using PLEIO and Coloc, apply Mendelian Randomization to assess potential genetic causality and analyze shared biological pathways with the SNP2gene tool from FUMA plataform between PTSD and IBDs. (AU)