Shorter telomere length and suicidal ideation in familial bipolar disorder

The genetic and environmental influences on telomere length traits in BD families were also examined, including clinical symptomatology variables, along with suicide behavior. Telomere length and single copy gene (T/S ratio) was measured using quantitative polymerase chain reaction in a sample of 143 relatives from 22 families of which 60 had BD. Taking into account the family structure, the statistical analysis was performed with a polygenic mixed model and showing that LTL was associated with suicidal ideation (p = 0.02) and an interaction between suicidal ideation and course of disorder was also observed (p = 0.02).