Some patients do not feel happiness even after treating depression. Domestic researchers uncovered the genetic relationship between happiness and mental disorders. The key to unraveling the mystery lay in genetic variants.
Samsung Medical Center noted on the 15th that they discovered genetic variants affecting mental disorders are related to subjective happiness. Subjective happiness refers to an individual's perceived happiness and life satisfaction. The results of this study were published last month in the international journal 'Nature Human Behavior.'
The research team analyzed the genomes of 650,000 Europeans and 110,000 Koreans to clarify the genetic relationship between happiness and mental disorders. They examined the associations between 14 mental disorders, including depression, schizophrenia, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and Alzheimer's disease, and subjective happiness.
As a result, it was found that seven disorders, including depression, bipolar disorder type 1, schizophrenia, anorexia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, cannabis use disorder, and autism spectrum disorder share genetic variants with subjective happiness. Patients with these mental disorders found it difficult to control symptoms with medication. Even after treatment, their subjective happiness did not improve, and it was revealed that their condition is likely to worsen again.
In particular, 93% of genetic variants associated with depression were related to subjective happiness. The researchers also revealed for the first time during the study that genes ZMYND8 and LINC02163 influence emotional regulation. These genes were found in the brain's basal ganglia, frontal lobe, cerebellar hemispheres, and amygdala.
Professor Won Hong-hee stated that they confirmed the close genetic association between subjective happiness and mental disorders. Professor Myung Woo-jae noted that there are patients who do not feel happiness after treating mental disorders, adding that it may be possible to develop treatments that can help such patients.
References
Nature Human Behavior (2025), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-025-02155-z