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BACKGROUND: Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the serotonin type 3 receptor subunit (HTR3) genes have been associated with psychosomatic symptoms, but it is not clear whether these associations exist in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). AIM: To assess the association of HTR3 polymorphisms with depressive, anxiety, and somatization symptoms in individuals with IBS. METHODS: In this retrospective study, 623 participants with IBS were recruited from five specialty centers in Germany, Sweden, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Ireland. Depressive, anxiety, and somatization symptoms and sociodemographic characteristics were collected. Four functional SNPs - HTR3A c.-42C>T, HTR3B c.386A>C, HTR3C c.489C>A, and HTR3E c.*76G>A - were genotyped and analyzed using the dominant and recessive models. We also performed separate analyses for sex and IBS subtypes. SNP scores were calculated as the number of minor alleles of the SNPs above. The impact of HTR3C c.489C>A was tested by radioligand-binding and calcium influx assays. RESULTS: Depressive and anxiety symptoms significantly worsened with increasing numbers of minor HTR3C c.489C>A alleles in the dominant model (F depressive = 7.475, P depressive = 0.006; F anxiety = 6.535, P anxiety = 0.011). A higher SNP score (range 0-6) was linked to a worsened depressive symptoms score (F = 7.710, P-linear trend = 0.006) in IBS. The potential relevance of the HTR3C SNP was corroborated, showing changes in the expression level of 5-HT3AC variant receptors. CONCLUSION: We have provided the first evidence that HTR3C c.489C>A is involved in depressive and anxiety symptoms in individuals with IBS. The SNP score indicated that an increasing number of minor alleles is linked to the worsening of depressive symptoms in IBS. ispartof: WORLD JOURNAL OF GASTROENTEROLOGY vol:28 issue:21 pages:2334-2349 ispartof: location:United States status: published

Although gastroenterologists are frequently exposed to psychopathology few data exist regarding their ability to accurately assess anxiety and depression or the impact of their perceptions of anxiety and depression on diagnostic decisions. The aims of this study were to determine gastroenterologists' ability to correctly identify anxiety and depression in patients with gastrointestinal symptoms and to determine whether gastroenterologist perceptions of anxiety and depression affected postvisit diagnosis.One hundred fifty-nine consecutive patients making their initial visit to 3 university outpatient clinics were evaluated by 38 gastroenterologists and completed Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Gastroenterologists rated their perceptions of patient anxiety and depression on 100-mm visual analog scales and indicated whether they thought the patient was clinically anxious or depressed. On the basis of the gastroenterologists' postvisit diagnosis, patients were entered into functional gastrointestinal disorder (FGID; n=28), symptom-based (SB) diagnosis (n=45), or organic disease (OD; n=86) groups.Anxiety and depression were present in 40% and 20% of patients, respectively. Gastroenterologists' categorization of patients as having clinically significant anxiety and depression were poor with positive predictive values of 0.52 and 0.26, respectively. Patients perceived as anxious by their gastroenterologist were more than twice as likely to receive a FGID diagnosis.Anxiety and depression were prevalent in the study population yet gastroenterologists did not accurately detect these conditions. However, gastroenterologists were more than twice as likely to diagnose patients whom they perceived as anxious as having an FGID, highlighting a need for improved psychosocial assessment in clinical practice and education to diminish misattributions regarding FGID.