Our most significant GWAS finding was for SNPs in FHIT (fragile histidine triad gene which codes for a protein involved in purine metabolism) influencing anxiety symptoms. These SNPs were also associated with psychological distress, which taps anxiety, depression, and social dysfunction. SNPs nearby/in the FHIT gene have been associated with recurrent early-onset major depressive disorder in a GWAS (Shi et al. 2011). Importantly, 35% of the cases in their study showed a co-morbid anxiety disorder diagnosis. Our top FHIT SNPs were not in LD with rs10514718, their associated marker (located 176kb from FHIT). In our study, rs10514718 fell short of association with anxiety; the C allele conferred a 0.12 SD decrease in scores (P=0.08).
