Insulin resistance: Genetic associations with depression and cognition in population based cohorts.

ABSTRACT: Insulin resistance, broadly defined as the reduced ability of insulin to exert its biological action, has been associated with depression and cognitive dysfunction in observational studies. However, it is unclear whether these associations are causal and whether they might be underpinned by other shared factors. To address this knowledge gap, we capitalized on the stability of genetic biomarkers through the lifetime, and on their unidirectional relationship with depression and cognition. Specifically, we determined the association between quantitative measures of cognitive function and depression and genetic instruments of insulin resistance traits in two large-scale population samples, the Generation Scotland: Scottish Family Health Study (GS: SFHS; N = 19,994) and in the UK Biobank (N = 

SUBMITTER: Frangou S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6503941 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature