Lana Williams

Publications (3)7.04 Total impact

• Article: Glutamate cysteine ligase (GCL) and self reported depression: an association study from the HUNT.

  Michael Berk, Stefan Johansson, Naomi R Wray, Lana Williams, Craig Olsson, Jan Haavik, Ottar Bjerkeset
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  ABSTRACT: There is increasing evidence suggesting oxidative stress may play a role in the aetiology of depression. Glutathione is the brain's predominant free radical scavenger, and associated polymorphisms of the glutamate cysteine ligase (GCL) gene have been reported for related psychiatric disorders. The aim of the study was to investigate candidate polymorphisms of GCL validated in schizophrenia and their association with current state depression, as measured by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Polymorphisms were genotyped on 983 cases and 967 controls selected from a population sample of adults participating in the Nord-Trøndelag Health Study. Cases were the top scoring individuals (98.5th percentile) on the HADS depression subscale while the controls were randomly selected from below this cut-off. The polymorphisms comprised three SNPs from GCLM, the gene encoding the GCL modifier and 9 SNPs plus a trinucleotide repeat (TNTR) from intron 1 and the 5'UTR of GCLC, the gene encoding the GCL catalytic subunit. Using the linkage disequilibrium between the GCLC markers we also tested whether SNPs could represent the variation of the TNTR. The candidate polymorphisms showed no evidence for association with depression. The C allele of SNP rs9474592 is coupled with the 9 GAG repeats allele of the TNTR, r²=0.81. None of the other SNPs either individually or as two or three-SNP haplotypes was associated with the TNTR alleles. Depression was self-reported and measured at one time point. This study provides no evidence to suggest that polymorphisms of GCL are associated with self-reported depression.
  Journal of affective disorders 01/2011; 131(1-3):207-13. · 3.76 Impact Factor
• Article: The prevalence of mood and anxiety disorders in Australian women.

  Lana Williams, Felice Jacka, Julie Pasco, Margaret Henry, Seetal Dodd, Geoffrey Nicholson, Mark Kotowicz, Michael Berk
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  ABSTRACT: We aimed to report the prevalence, age-of-onset and comorbidity of mood and anxiety disorders in an age-stratified representative sample of Australian women aged 20 years and over. Mood and anxiety disorders were diagnosed utilising a clinical interview (SCID-I/NP). The lifetime and current prevalence of these disorders was determined from the study population (n = 1095) and standardized to 2006 census data for Australia. Approximately one in three women (34.8%) reported a lifetime history of any mood and/or anxiety disorder, with mood disorders (30.0%) being more prevalent than anxiety disorders (13.5%). Of these, major depression (23.4%), panic disorder (5.5%) and specific phobia (3.5%) were the most common. The lifetime prevalence of other disorders was low (< or =3%). A total of 14.4% of women were identified as having a current mood and/or anxiety disorder, with similar rates of mood (8.9%) and anxiety disorders (8.0%) observed. The median age-of-onset for mood disorders was 27.0 years and 18.5 years for anxiety disorders. This study reports the lifetime and current prevalence of mood and anxiety disorders in the Australian female population. The findings emphasize the extent of the burden of these disorders in the community.
  Australasian Psychiatry 06/2010; 18(3):250-5. · 0.86 Impact Factor
• Source

  Available from: Felice N Jacka

  Article: Prevalence of mood and anxiety disorder in self reported irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). An epidemiological population based study of women.

  Arnstein Mykletun, Felice Jacka, Lana Williams, Julie Pasco, Margaret Henry, Geoffrey C Nicholson, Mark A Kotowicz, Michael Berk
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  ABSTRACT: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is commonly regarded as a functional disorder, and is hypothesized to be associated with anxiety and depression. This evidence mainly rests on population-based studies utilising self-report screening instruments for psychopathology. Other studies applying structured clinical interviews are generally based on small clinical samples, which are vulnerable to biases. The extant evidence base for an association between IBS and psychopathology is hence not conclusive. The aim of this study was therefore to re-examine the hypothesis using population-based data and psychiatric morbidity established with a structured clinical interview. Data were derived from a population-based epidemiological study (n = 1077). Anxiety and mood disorders were established using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV-TR (SCID-I/NP) and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12). Current and lifetime IBS was self-reported. Hypertension and diabetes were employed as comparison groups as they are expected to be unrelated to mental health. Current IBS (n = 69, 6.4%) was associated with an increased likelihood of current mood and/or anxiety disorders (OR = 2.62, 95%CI 1.49 - 4.60). Half the population reporting a lifetime IBS diagnosis also had a lifetime mood or anxiety disorder. Exploratory analyses demonstrated an increased prevalence of IBS across most common anxiety and mood disorders, the exception being bipolar disorder. The association with IBS and symptoms load (GHQ-12) followed a curved dose response pattern. In contrast, hypertension and diabetes were consistently unrelated to psychiatric morbidity. IBS is significantly associated with anxiety and mood disorders. This study provides indicative evidence for IBS as a disorder with a psychosomatic aspect.
  BMC Gastroenterology 01/2010; 10:88. · 2.42 Impact Factor