title: Meta-analysis of genetic association studies on bipolar disorder.
abstract: Numerous candidate gene association studies of bipolar disorder (BP) have been carried out, but the results have been inconsistent. Individual studies are typically underpowered to detect associations with genes of small effect sizes. We conducted a meta-analysis of published candidate gene studies to evaluate the cumulative evidence. We systematically searched for all published candidate gene association studies of BP. We then carried out a random-effects meta-analysis on all polymorphisms that were reported on by three or more case-control studies. The results from meta-analyses of these genes were compared with the findings from a recent mega-analysis of eleven genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in BP performed by the Psychiatric GWAS Consortium (PGC). A total of 487 articles were included in our review. Among these, 33 polymorphisms in 18 genes were reported on by three or more case-control studies and included in the random-effects meta-analysis. Polymorphisms in BDNF, DRD4, DAOA, and TPH1, were found to be nominally significant with a P-value < 0.05. However, none of the findings were significant after correction for multiple testing. Moreover, none of these polymorphisms were nominally significant in the PGC-BP GWAS. A number of plausible candidate genes have been previously associated with BP. However, the lack of robust findings in our review of these candidate genes highlights the need for more atheoretical approaches to study the genetics of BP afforded by GWAS. The results of this meta-analysis and from other on-going genomic experiments in BP are available online at Metamoodics (http://metamoodics.igm.jhmi.edu).
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21287, USA.
authors.forename: Fayaz
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Seifuddin
authors.forename: Pamela Belmonte
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Mahon
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Judy
authors.forename: Mehdi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pirooznia
authors.forename: Dubravka
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Jancic
authors.forename: Jacob
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.forename: Fernando S
authors.initials: FS
authors.lastname: Goes
authors.forename: James B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Potash
authors.forename: Peter P
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: Zandi
mesh_terms: D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000235:genetics*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D056726:Genetic Association Studies; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D055106:Genome-Wide Association Study; D006801:Humans; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic