A study published Wednesday in the JAMA Psychiatry journal shows that four key genetic variations are more common in military veterans who have taken their own life or considered it.
Scientists from Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, found the pattern while analyzing blood samples from a database that included 633,778 U.S. veterans, cross-referenced with the International Suicide Genetics Consortium of more than 549,000 individuals.
The obtained samples were sequenced to create genetic profiles compared to participants' medical records, showing that 121,211 recorded cases of attempted suicide or thoughts about killing themselves.
After first identifying over 200 risk loci, genes ESR1, DRD2, DCC, and TRAF3 were most prevalent in that group of veterans. Most notably, ESR1 encodes estrogen receptors, and DRD2 is associated with several mood disorders.
But researchers assured that the genes previously linked to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and schizophrenia do not "predestine anyone to problems" in the future, GenomeWeb reported.
"While genes account for a small amount of risk relative to other factors, we need to better understand the biological pathways that underlie a person's risk for engaging in suicidal behavior," stated Dr. Nathan Kimbrel, a study contributor and professor at Duke.
"The more we know, the better we can prevent these tragic deaths," he added.
Ancestry-specific results also provided interesting results. Seven loci were found unique to European participants, with one locus each within the Black and Hispanic cohorts and none for the Asian-ancestry cohort.
Still, Kimbrel emphasized that more work needs to be done in the field before any definitive changes to clinical care can be made.