Key result
FTO rs1421085 T-allele linked to higher neuroticism scores independent of BMI and other confounders.
Why the study?
Recent studies have linked the FTO gene to addiction phenotypes and dopaminergic signaling, suggesting broader psychiatric implications beyond obesity that remained to be explored.
Does the FTO gene variant rs1421085 associate with neuroticism, subjective well-being, and alcohol use in adults?
Observational (n=2,194)
Does the FTO gene variant rs1421085 associate with neuroticism, subjective well-being, and alcohol use in adults?
Mean Difference: 0.16 (95% CI 0.04–0.28)
p-value: p=0.007
The FTO gene variant rs1421085 is directly associated with increased neuroticism, which indirectly mediates lower subjective well-being and problematic alcohol use.
Should not change practice; leaves open causal mediation of well-being or alcohol use.
Associations between the fat mass and obesity-associated ( FTO ) gene and obesity are well-established. However, recent studies have linked FTO to addiction phenotypes and dopaminergic signaling, thus suggesting broader psychiatric implications. We explored this assumption by conducting a phenome-wide association study (PheWAS) across 4,756 genome-wide association studies (GWASs), identifying 26 psychiatric traits associated with FTO at the multiple-corrected significance level. These traits clustered into four categories: substance use, chronotype/sleep, well-being, and neuroticism. To validate these findings, we analyzed a functionally suggestive FTO variant (rs1421085) in a separate cohort, examining its impact on (i) alcohol use based on the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), (ii) subjective well-being based on the WHO (Ten) Well-Being Index, and (iii) neuroticism based on Schafer’s Five Factor Model (FFM) or the Karolinska Scales of Personality (KSP). Our results confirmed a direct association between rs1421085 and neuroticism that was independent of age, sex, alcohol use, body mass index (BMI), and childhood adversities. Interestingly, while no direct association with alcohol intake was observed, both cross-sectional and lagged longitudinal mediation analyses uncovered indirect relationships between rs1421085 and problematic alcohol use (AUDIT-P), with increased neuroticism acting as the intermediary. Mediation analyses also supported an indirect effect of rs1421085 on lower well-being through the pathways of increased neuroticism and BMI. Our study is the first to validate a direct association between FTO and neuroticism. However, additional studies are warranted to affirm the causal pathways linking FTO to well-being and alcohol use through neuroticism.
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Cai et al. (2024) conducted an observational in Psychiatric traits (neuroticism, well-being, alcohol use) (n=2,194). FTO gene variant rs1421085 (T-allele) vs. CC homozygotes was evaluated on Neuroticism score (B 0.16, 95% CI 0.04, 0.28, p=0.007). Carriers of the FTO rs1421085 T-allele demonstrated significantly higher neuroticism scores (B 0.16) independent of age, sex, BMI, alcohol use, and childhood adversities.
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