PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Lei Cai
AU  - Yonglin Liu
AU  - Lin He
TI  - Investigating genetic causal relationships between blood pressure and anxiety, depressive symptoms, neuroticism and subjective well-being
AID  - 10.1136/gpsych-2022-100877
DP  - 2022 Oct 01
TA  - General Psychiatry
PG  - e100877
VI  - 35
IP  - 5
4099  - http://gpsych.bmj.com/content/35/5/e100877.short
4100  - http://gpsych.bmj.com/content/35/5/e100877.full
SO  - Gen Psych2022 Oct 01; 35
AB  - Background High blood pressure is a leading cardiovascular disease risk factor and considered to be associated with psychological factors. However, the causal relationships between blood pressure and anxiety, depressive symptoms, neuroticism and subjective well-being are not clear.Aims The current study explored the genetic causal relationships between blood pressure and anxiety, depressive symptoms, neuroticism and subjective well-being.Methods Mendelian randomisation (MR) analyses were performed using the generalised summary-data-based MR analysis method with eight large-scale genome-wide association study datasets for hypertension, systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), pulse pressure, anxiety, depressive symptoms, neuroticism and subjective well-being.Results A causal effect of DBP on neuroticism was found, and 1074 independent instrumental single nucleotide polymorphisms were identified by the incorporated Heterogeneity in Dependent Instruments-outlier test among the bidirectional causal relationship between blood pressure and the four psychological states.Conclusions DBP has a causal effect on neuroticism. Appropriate management of blood pressure may reduce neuroticism, neuroticism-inducing mood disorders and cardiovascular diseases.Data are available upon reasonable request.