Objective: To investigate the association between psychiatric symptoms and the risk of dystonia, and to explore potential causal effects using Mendelian randomization (MR).
Background: Psychiatric disorders frequently coexist with movement disorders; however, their longitudinal impact on dystonia risk and potential causal role remain unclear. Clarifying this issue may improve early risk identification and provide insights into shared neurobiological mechanisms.
Method: A prospective cohort study was conducted using data from the UK Biobank, including 380,077 participants without dystonia at baseline. Psychiatric symptoms assessed included schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, stress-related disorder, and any mental disorder. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals. Two-sample MR analyses were performed using genome-wide significant variants (P < 5×10e-8) as instrumental variables, with the inverse-variance weighted method applied as the primary analytical approach.
Results: During a median follow-up of 13.73 years, 342 participants developed dystonia. In multivariable analyses, all examined psychiatric disorders predicted a higher risk of dystonia. After additional adjustment for antipsychotic medication use, only any mental disorder (HR 1.57, P = 0.005), schizophrenia (HR 3.84, P = 0.027), and stress-related disorder (HR 2.50, P < 0.001) remained significant. MR analyses further demonstrated potential causal effects of schizophrenia (OR 1.26, P = 0.001) and major depression (OR 1.85, P = 0.03) on dystonia risk.
Conclusion: Psychiatric symptoms are associated with an elevated risk of dystonia, and genetic evidence supports potential causal contributions for schizophrenia and major depression. These findings highlight shared mechanisms underlying psychiatric disorders and dystonia and emphasize the importance of psychiatric symptom management.
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
X. Zheng, Y. Yu, S. Wang, R. Ou, H. Shang, C. Li. Effects of Psychiatric Symptoms on Dystonia Risk: a Prospective Cohort and Mendelian Randomization Study [abstract]. Mov Disord. 2026; 41 (suppl 1). https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/effects-of-psychiatric-symptoms-on-dystonia-risk-a-prospective-cohort-and-mendelian-randomization-study/. Accessed October 1, 2026.« Back to 2026 International Congress
MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/effects-of-psychiatric-symptoms-on-dystonia-risk-a-prospective-cohort-and-mendelian-randomization-study/