Double board-certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, David Chen, MD, is a psychiatrist with over 15 years of experience in clinical practice and extensive research training in psychotherapy and human genetics. David Chen, MD, operates a private practice in Chevy Chase, Maryland, where he works with individuals with impulse control disorder and early onset bipolar disorder.

Peer-reviewed journal Molecular Psychiatry published a meta-analytic study of genetic markers that cause susceptibility to bipolar disorder (BD), a mental health condition characterized by erratic and extreme mood swings. In the study, researchers conducted a combined analysis of genetic markers in a diverse sample of around 14,000 individuals of European and Asian ancestry. The study results revealed some associations near specific genes, namely TRANK1 (LBA1), PTGFR, and LMAN2L, which were not previously linked to BD.

In phase I of the study, the most significant genetic marker, rs9834970, located near the TRANK1 gene, showed a strong association with BD. The study also provided supporting evidence for previous associations with the ANK3 gene. Similar results appeared in phase II.

Based on these findings and considering other known risks for BD, the researchers estimated that more than 63,000 case-control samples would be necessary to discover approximately 105 genetic risk regions for BD using genome-wide association study methods. Researchers noted that these findings may explain less than 6 percent of the overall inherited risk of BD.