An Association Study Between Educational Attainment-Related Genes and Cognitive Functions in Japanese Patients with Schizophrenia

Abstract

Objective: The present study aimed to investigate the pleiotropic effects of candidate loci identified by genome-wide association studies, how they may function as possible proxy phenotypes for educational attainment, and how they affect clinical symptoms and their detailed psychometrics in Japanese patients with schizophrenia.

Method: Three single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs)(rs6739979, rs11588857, and rs2245901) common in Japanese individuals showing a relationship to both schizophrenia and educational attainments from a previously conducted genome-wide study (Okbay, 2016) were investigated in a case-control study between 640 unrelated Japanese patients with schizophrenia and 640 healthy controls. The relationship between these SNPs and detailed clinical information, including educational attainments and cognitive function from psychometrics, were investigated in these patients.

Results: Results of the present study show that these SNPs are not genetic risk factors for schizophrenia. However, SNP rs2245901 in the 2q32.3 region showed a relationship to declining performance intelligent quotients in schizophrenia patients, as seen from multiple linear regression analysis.

Conclusion: The genetic region at 2q32.3 may influence the attained education and decline of cognitive function in patients with schizophrenia.