Epidemiological studies have linked low birth weight to psychiatric disorders, including substance use disorders. Genomic analyses suggest a role of placental physiology on psychiatric risk. We investigated whether this association is causally related to impaired trophoblast function.
We conducted a two-sample summary-data Mendelian randomization study using as instrumental variables those genetic variants strongly associated with birth weight, whose effect is exerted through the fetal genome, and are located near genes with differential expression in trophoblasts. Eight psychiatric and substance use disorders with >10,000 samples were included as outcomes. The inverse variance weighted method was used as the main analysis and several sensitivity analyses were performed for those significant results.
The inverse variance weighted estimate, based on 14 instrumental variables, revealed an association, after correction for multiple tests, between birth weight and broadly defined depression (β = −0.165, 95% CI = −0.282 to −0.047,
Impaired trophoblast functioning, probably leading to reduced fetal brain oxygen and nutrient supply, is causally related to broadly defined depression. Considering the therapeutic potential of some agents to treat fetal growth restriction, further research on the effect of trophoblast physiology on mental disorders may have future implications in prevention.