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Hughes AM, Torvik FA, van Bergen E, Hannigan LJ, Corfield EC, Andreassen OA, Ystrom E, Ask H, Smith GD, Davies NM, Havdahl A. Parental education and children's depression, anxiety, and ADHD traits, a within-family study in MoBa. NPJ SCIENCE OF LEARNING 2024; 9:46. [PMID: 39025869 PMCID: PMC11258307 DOI: 10.1038/s41539-024-00260-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2024] [Accepted: 07/05/2024] [Indexed: 07/20/2024]
Abstract
Children born to parents with fewer years of education are more likely to have depression, anxiety, and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but it is unclear to what extent these associations are causal. We estimated the effect of parents' educational attainment on children's depressive, anxiety, and ADHD traits at age 8 years, in a sample of 40,879 Norwegian children born in 1998-2009 and their parents. We used within-family Mendelian randomization, which employs genetic variants as instrumental variables, and controlled for direct genetic effects by adjusting for children's polygenic indexes. We found little evidence that mothers' or fathers' educational attainment independently affected children's depressive, anxiety, or ADHD traits. However, children's own polygenic scores for educational attainment were independently and negatively associated with these traits. Results suggest that differences in these traits according to parents' education may reflect direct genetic effects more than genetic nurture. Consequences of social disadvantage for children's mental health may however be more visible in samples with more socioeconomic variation, or contexts with larger socioeconomic disparities than present-day Norway. Further research is required in populations with more educational and economic inequality and in other age groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda M Hughes
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, Population Health Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
| | - Fartein Ask Torvik
- Centre for Fertility and Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
- Promenta Research Centre, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Elsje van Bergen
- Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Laurie J Hannigan
- Nic Waals Institute, Lovisenberg Diaconal Hospital, Oslo, Norway
- Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
- PsychGen Centre for Genetic Epidemiology and Mental Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
| | - Elizabeth C Corfield
- Nic Waals Institute, Lovisenberg Diaconal Hospital, Oslo, Norway
- PsychGen Centre for Genetic Epidemiology and Mental Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
| | - Ole A Andreassen
- NORMENT Centre, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo and Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital, 0407, Oslo, Norway
- KG Jebsen Centre for Neurodevelopmental disorders, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Eivind Ystrom
- Promenta Research Centre, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- PsychGen Centre for Genetic Epidemiology and Mental Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
| | - Helga Ask
- Promenta Research Centre, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- PsychGen Centre for Genetic Epidemiology and Mental Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
| | - George Davey Smith
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, Population Health Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Neil M Davies
- Division of Psychiatry, University College London, London, UK
- Department of Statistical Science, University College London, London, UK
- K.G. Jebsen Center for Genetic Epidemiology, Department of Public Health and Nursing, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Alexandra Havdahl
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, Population Health Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
- Promenta Research Centre, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- Nic Waals Institute, Lovisenberg Diaconal Hospital, Oslo, Norway
- PsychGen Centre for Genetic Epidemiology and Mental Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
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Järvinen A, Lichtenstein P, D'Onofrio BM, Fazel S, Kuja-Halkola R, Latvala A. Health, behavior, and social outcomes among offspring of parents with criminal convictions: a register-based study from Sweden. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2024. [PMID: 38736394 DOI: 10.1111/jcpp.14003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/15/2024] [Indexed: 05/14/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND There is currently insufficient understanding of the health and behavior of children whose parents engage in criminal behavior. We examined associations between parental criminal convictions and wide range of offspring health, behavioral, and social outcomes by age 18 in a large, national sample, aiming to get a comprehensive picture of the risks among children of offending parents. METHODS We studied 1,013,385 individuals born in Sweden between 1987 and 1995, and their parents. Using data from several longitudinal nationwide registers, we investigated parental convictions and 85 offspring outcomes until the end of 2013, grouped into birth-related conditions, psychiatric and somatic disorders, accidents and injuries, mortality, school achievement, violent victimization, and criminality. Cox proportional hazards regression and logistic regression models were used to examine the associations. The role of genetic factors in intergenerational associations was studied in children-of-siblings analyses. We also examined the co-occurrence of multiple outcomes using Poisson regression. RESULTS A total of 223,319 (22.0%) individuals had one parent convicted and 31,241 (3.1%) had both parents convicted during the first 18 years of their life. The strongest associations were found between parental convictions and offspring behavioral problems, substance use disorders, poor school achievement, violent victimization, and criminality, with an approximately 2 to 2.5-fold increased risk in children with one convicted parent and 3- to 4-fold increased risk in children with two convicted parents. The risks were particularly elevated among children of incarcerated parents with a history of violent convictions. The associations appeared to be at least partly explained by genetic influences. Parental convictions were also associated with an increased likelihood of experiencing multiple outcomes. CONCLUSIONS Our findings help to calibrate the risks of a wide range of adverse outcomes associated with parental convictions and may be used to guide prevention efforts and identify key areas for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aurora Järvinen
- Institute of Criminology and Legal Policy, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Paul Lichtenstein
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Brian M D'Onofrio
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, USA
| | - Seena Fazel
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, UK
| | - Ralf Kuja-Halkola
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Antti Latvala
- Institute of Criminology and Legal Policy, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
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Kleppesto TH, Eilertsen EM, van Bergen E, Sunde HF, Zietsch B, Nordmo M, Eftedal NH, Havdahl A, Ystrom E, Torvik FA. Intergenerational transmission of ADHD behaviors: genetic and environmental pathways. Psychol Med 2024; 54:1309-1317. [PMID: 37920986 DOI: 10.1017/s003329172300315x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND We investigate if covariation between parental and child attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) behaviors can be explained by environmental and/or genetic transmission. METHODS We employed a large children-of-twins-and-siblings sample (N = 22 276 parents and 11 566 8-year-old children) of the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study. This enabled us to disentangle intergenerational influences via parental genes and parental behaviors (i.e. genetic and environmental transmission, respectively). Fathers reported on their own symptoms and mothers on their own and their child's symptoms. RESULTS Child ADHD behaviors correlated with their mother's (0.24) and father's (0.10) ADHD behaviors. These correlations were largely due to additive genetic transmission. Variation in children's ADHD behaviors was explained by genetic factors active in both generations (11%) and genetic factors specific to the children (46%), giving a total heritability of 57%. There were small effects of parental ADHD behaviors (2% environmental transmission) and gene-environment correlation (3%). The remaining variability in ADHD behaviors was due to individual-specific environmental factors. CONCLUSIONS The intergenerational resemblance of ADHD behaviors is primarily due to genetic transmission, with little evidence for parental ADHD behaviors causing children's ADHD behaviors. This contradicts theories proposing environmental explanations of intergenerational transmission of ADHD, such as parenting theories or psychological life-history theory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas H Kleppesto
- Centre for Fertility and Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
- Department of Psychology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Espen Moen Eilertsen
- Centre for Fertility and Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
- PROMENTA Research Center, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Elsje van Bergen
- Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Research Institute LEARN!, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Hans Fredrik Sunde
- Centre for Fertility and Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Brendan Zietsch
- Centre for Psychology and Evolution, School of Psychology, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Magnus Nordmo
- Centre for Fertility and Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
- Department of Educational Science, University of South-Eastern Norway, Notodden, Norway
| | - Nikolai Haahjem Eftedal
- PROMENTA Research Center, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Alexandra Havdahl
- PROMENTA Research Center, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- Department of Mental Disorders, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
- Nic Waals Institute, Spångbergveien 25, 0853 Oslo, Norway
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Eivind Ystrom
- PROMENTA Research Center, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- Department of Mental Disorders, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
| | - Fartein Ask Torvik
- Centre for Fertility and Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
- PROMENTA Research Center, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
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Aitken M, Perquier F, Haltigan JD, Wang L, Andrade BF, Battaglia M, Szatmari P, Georgiades K. Individual- and family-level associations between child psychopathology and parenting. Dev Psychopathol 2024; 36:944-952. [PMID: 37017128 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579423000202] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/06/2023]
Abstract
Parenting can protect against the development of, or increase risk for, child psychopathology; however, it is unclear if parenting is related to psychopathology symptoms in a specific domain, or to broad liability for psychopathology. Parenting differs between and within families, and both overall family-level parenting and the child-specific parenting a child receives may be important in estimating transdiagnostic associations with psychopathology. Data come from a cross-sectional epidemiological sample (N = 10,605 children ages 4-17, 6434 households). Parents rated child internalizing and externalizing symptoms and their parenting toward each child. General and specific (internalizing, externalizing) psychopathology factors, derived with bifactor modeling, were regressed on parenting using multilevel modeling. Less warmth and more aversive/inconsistent parenting in the family, and toward an individual child relative to family average, were associated with higher general psychopathology and specific externalizing problems. Unexpectedly, more warmth in the family, and toward an individual child relative to family average, was associated with higher specific internalizing problems in 4-11 (not 12-17) year-olds. Less warmth and more aversive/inconsistent parenting are broad correlates of child psychopathology. Aversive/inconsistent parenting, is also related to specific externalizing problems. Parents may behave more warmly when their younger children have specific internalizing problems, net of overall psychopathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madison Aitken
- Cundill Centre for Child and Youth Depression, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Canada
| | - Florence Perquier
- Cundill Centre for Child and Youth Depression, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Canada
| | - John D Haltigan
- Cundill Centre for Child and Youth Depression, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Canada
- Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada
| | - Li Wang
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences & Offord Centre for Child Studies, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada
| | - Brendan F Andrade
- Cundill Centre for Child and Youth Depression, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Canada
| | - Marco Battaglia
- Cundill Centre for Child and Youth Depression, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Canada
| | - Peter Szatmari
- Cundill Centre for Child and Youth Depression, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Canada
- Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada
| | - Katholiki Georgiades
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences & Offord Centre for Child Studies, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada
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Elovainio M, Komulainen K, Hakulinen C, Pahkala K, Rovio S, Hutri N, Raitakari OT, Pulkki-Råback L. Intergenerational continuity of loneliness and potential mechanisms: Young Finns Multigenerational Study. Sci Rep 2024; 14:5465. [PMID: 38443584 PMCID: PMC10915156 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-56147-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2023] [Accepted: 03/01/2024] [Indexed: 03/07/2024] Open
Abstract
Evidence on the intergenerational continuity of loneliness and on potential mechanisms that connect loneliness across successive generations is limited. We examined the association between loneliness of (G0) parents (859 mothers and 570 fathers, mean age 74 years) and their children (G1) (433 sons and 558 daughters, mean age 47 years) producing 991 parent-offspring pairs and tested whether these associations were mediated through subjective socioeconomic position, temperament characteristics, cognitive performance, and depressive symptoms. Mean loneliness across parents had an independent effect on their adult children's experienced loneliness (OR = 1.72, 95% CI 1.23-2.42). We also found a robust effect of mothers' (OR = 1.64, 95% CI 1.17-2.29), but not of fathers' loneliness (OR = 1.47, 95% CI 0.96-2.25) on offspring's experienced loneliness in adulthood. The associations were partly mediated by offspring depressive (41-54%) and anxiety (29-31%) symptoms. The current findings emphasize the high interdependence of loneliness within families mediated partly by offspring's mental health problems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marko Elovainio
- Research Program Unit, Faculty of Medicine (Department of Psychology), University of Helsinki, Haartmaninkatu 3, P.O.Box 63, 00014, Helsinki, Finland.
- Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Mannerheimintie 166, 00300, Helsinki, Finland.
| | - Kaisla Komulainen
- Research Program Unit, Faculty of Medicine (Department of Psychology), University of Helsinki, Haartmaninkatu 3, P.O.Box 63, 00014, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Christian Hakulinen
- Research Program Unit, Faculty of Medicine (Department of Psychology), University of Helsinki, Haartmaninkatu 3, P.O.Box 63, 00014, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Katja Pahkala
- Department of Public Health, University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, Kiinamyllynkatu 10, 20520, Turku, Finland
- Centre for Population Health Research, University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, Kiinamyllynkatu 10, 20520, Turku, Finland
- Research Centre of Applied and Preventive Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Turku, Kiinamyllynkatu 10, 20520, Turku, Finland
| | - Suvi Rovio
- Department of Public Health, University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, Kiinamyllynkatu 10, 20520, Turku, Finland
- Centre for Population Health Research, University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, Kiinamyllynkatu 10, 20520, Turku, Finland
- Research Centre of Applied and Preventive Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Turku, Kiinamyllynkatu 10, 20520, Turku, Finland
| | - Nina Hutri
- Department of Pediatrics, Tampere University Hospital and Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
| | - Olli T Raitakari
- Department of Public Health, University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, Kiinamyllynkatu 10, 20520, Turku, Finland
- Centre for Population Health Research, University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, Kiinamyllynkatu 10, 20520, Turku, Finland
- Research Centre of Applied and Preventive Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Turku, Kiinamyllynkatu 10, 20520, Turku, Finland
| | - Laura Pulkki-Råback
- Research Program Unit, Faculty of Medicine (Department of Psychology), University of Helsinki, Haartmaninkatu 3, P.O.Box 63, 00014, Helsinki, Finland
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Singh MK, Gorelik AJ, Stave C, Gotlib IH. Genetics, epigenetics, and neurobiology of childhood-onset depression: an umbrella review. Mol Psychiatry 2024; 29:553-565. [PMID: 38102485 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-023-02347-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2023] [Revised: 11/21/2023] [Accepted: 11/27/2023] [Indexed: 12/17/2023]
Abstract
Depression is a serious and persistent psychiatric disorder that commonly first manifests during childhood. Depression that starts in childhood is increasing in frequency, likely due both to evolutionary trends and to increased recognition of the disorder. In this umbrella review, we systematically searched the extant literature for genetic, epigenetic, and neurobiological factors that contribute to a childhood onset of depression. We searched PubMed, EMBASE, OVID/PsychInfo, and Google Scholar with the following inclusion criteria: (1) systematic review or meta-analysis from a peer-reviewed journal; (2) inclusion of a measure assessing early age of onset of depression; and (3) assessment of neurobiological, genetic, environmental, and epigenetic predictors of early onset depression. Findings from 89 systematic reviews of moderate to high quality suggest that childhood-onset depressive disorders have neurobiological, genetic, environmental, and epigenetic roots consistent with a diathesis-stress theory of depression. This review identified key putative markers that may be targeted for personalized clinical decision-making and provide important insights concerning candidate mechanisms that might underpin the early onset of depression.
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Gripe I, Pape H, Norström T. Associations Between Cannabis Use and Mental Distress in Young People: A Longitudinal Study. J Adolesc Health 2024; 74:479-486. [PMID: 38069929 DOI: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2023.10.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2023] [Revised: 09/29/2023] [Accepted: 10/04/2023] [Indexed: 02/05/2024]
Abstract
PURPOSE Despite a large number of studies on the relation between cannabis use and mental distress in adolescence, results are inconclusive regarding the nature of this association. The aim of the present study is to expand this body of research by analyzing the within-person association between changes in cannabis use and changes in mental distress among young people. METHODS We used longitudinal data from a national sample of young people in Norway. The cohort was assessed in 1992 (T1), 1994 (T2), 1999 (T3), and 2005 (T4). The cumulative response rate was 60%. Respondents who participated in all four waves, aged 11-18 years at T1 (N = 1,988) were analyzed. Within-person association between changes in cannabis use and changes in mental distress in terms of symptoms of depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, and deliberate self-harm were estimated by applying fixed-effects modeling. RESULTS For males, an increase in cannabis use from no use to more than 10 times/year was significantly associated with increased risk for anxiety (relative risk [RR]: 1.72, p = .009), depressed mood (RR: 1.49, p < .001), and suicidal ideation (RR: 3.43, p = .012). For females, the corresponding increase in cannabis use yielded an increased risk for anxiety (RR: 1.38, p = .023) and suicidal ideation (RR: 2.47, p = .002). DISCUSSION Increased cannabis use during adolescence and young adulthood seem to increase the risk for symptoms of mental distress. Although the associations appear to be more pronounced among males, it was only for depression that there was a statistically significant gender difference in the association.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabella Gripe
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; The Swedish Council for Information on Alcohol and Other Drugs (CAN), Stockholm, Sweden.
| | - Hilde Pape
- University College of Norwegian Correctional Service, Lillestrøm, Norway
| | - Thor Norström
- Swedish Institute for Social Research, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
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Hannigan LJ, Lund IO, Dahl Askelund A, Ystrom E, Corfield EC, Ask H, Havdahl A. Genotype-environment interplay in associations between maternal drinking and offspring emotional and behavioral problems. Psychol Med 2024; 54:203-214. [PMID: 37929303 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291723003057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND While maternal at-risk drinking is associated with children's emotional and behavioral problems, there is a paucity of research that properly accounts for genetic confounding and gene-environment interplay. Therefore, it remains uncertain what mechanisms underlie these associations. We assess the moderation of associations between maternal at-risk drinking and childhood emotional and behavioral problems by common genetic variants linked to environmental sensitivity (genotype-by-environment [G × E] interaction) while accounting for shared genetic risk between mothers and offspring (GE correlation). METHODS We use data from 109 727 children born to 90 873 mothers enrolled in the Norwegian Mother, Father, and Child Cohort Study. Women self-reported alcohol consumption and reported emotional and behavioral problems when children were 1.5/3/5 years old. We included child polygenic scores (PGSs) for traits linked to environmental sensitivity as moderators. RESULTS Associations between maternal drinking and child emotional (β1 = 0.04 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.03-0.05]) and behavioral (β1 = 0.07 [0.06-0.08]) outcomes attenuated after controlling for measured confounders and were almost zero when we accounted for unmeasured confounding (emotional: β1 = 0.01 [0.00-0.02]; behavioral: β1 = 0.01 [0.00-0.02]). We observed no moderation of these adjusted exposure effects by any of the PGS. CONCLUSIONS The lack of strong evidence for G × E interaction may indicate that the mechanism is not implicated in this kind of intergenerational association. It may also reflect insufficient power or the relatively benign nature of the exposure in this sample.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laurie John Hannigan
- Nic Waals Institute, Lovisenberg Diaconal Hospital, Oslo, Norway
- Department of Mental Disorders, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
- MRC (Medical Research Council) Integrative Epidemiology Unit, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Ingunn Olea Lund
- Department of Mental Disorders, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Adrian Dahl Askelund
- Nic Waals Institute, Lovisenberg Diaconal Hospital, Oslo, Norway
- Department of Mental Disorders, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
| | - Eivind Ystrom
- Department of Mental Disorders, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
- PROMENTA, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- School of Pharmacy, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Elizabeth C Corfield
- Nic Waals Institute, Lovisenberg Diaconal Hospital, Oslo, Norway
- Department of Mental Disorders, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
| | - Helga Ask
- Department of Mental Disorders, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
- PROMENTA, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Alexandra Havdahl
- Nic Waals Institute, Lovisenberg Diaconal Hospital, Oslo, Norway
- Department of Mental Disorders, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
- MRC (Medical Research Council) Integrative Epidemiology Unit, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
- PROMENTA, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
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Ahmadzadeh YI, Eilertsen EM, Cheesman R, Rayner C, Ystrom E, Hannigan LJ, McAdams TA. Mothers' symptoms of anxiety and depression and the development of child temperament: A genetically informative, longitudinal investigation. JCPP ADVANCES 2023; 3:e12171. [PMID: 38054053 PMCID: PMC10694534 DOI: 10.1002/jcv2.12171] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2022] [Accepted: 05/03/2023] [Indexed: 12/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Child temperament traits and mothers' emotional symptoms relating to anxiety and depression may drive changes in one another, leading to their 'co-development' across time. Alternatively, links between mother and child traits may be attributable to shared genetic propensities. We explored longitudinal associations between mothers' emotional symptoms and child temperament traits and adjusted for genetic effects shared across generations. Methods This study is based on the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study (MoBa). Mothers (n = 34,060) reported on their symptoms of anxiety and depression, and temperament among offspring (n = 42,526), at child ages 1.5, 3 and 5 years. Structural equation models parameterised developmental change in traits, and an extended family design adjusted for genetic effects. Results We found individual differences in stable trait scores and rate of change for all study variables. Longitudinal stability in mothers' emotional symptoms was associated with longitudinal stability in offspring emotionality (r = 0.143), shyness (r = 0.031), and sociability (r = -0.015). Longitudinal change in mothers' symptoms showed very small or negligible correlations with longitudinal change in child temperament. Both genetic and environmental influences explained the stable longitudinal association between mothers' symptoms and child emotionality. Conclusions The studied associations between mother and child traits across time appeared to be due to stable, trait-like factors, involving genetic and environmental influence, rather than their co-development. Findings contribute knowledge on how emotional symptoms develop in families across time, and the methods with which we can explore such development.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - R. Cheesman
- PROMENTA Research CenterUniversity of OsloOsloNorway
| | - C. Rayner
- SGDP CentreKing's College LondonLondonUK
| | - E. Ystrom
- PROMENTA Research CenterUniversity of OsloOsloNorway
- Centre for Fertility and HealthNorwegian Institute of Public HealthOsloNorway
- School of PharmacyUniversity of OsloOsloNorway
| | - L. J. Hannigan
- Nic Waals InstituteLovisenberg Diaconal HospitalOsloNorway
- Department of Mental DisordersNorwegian Institute of Public HealthOsloNorway
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology UnitUniversity of BristolBristolUK
| | - T. A. McAdams
- SGDP CentreKing's College LondonLondonUK
- PROMENTA Research CenterUniversity of OsloOsloNorway
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Wertz J, Moffitt TE, Arseneault L, Barnes JC, Boivin M, Corcoran DL, Danese A, Hancox RJ, Harrington H, Houts RM, Langevin S, Liu H, Poulton R, Sugden K, Tanksley PT, Williams BS, Caspi A. Genetic associations with parental investment from conception to wealth inheritance in six cohorts. Nat Hum Behav 2023; 7:1388-1401. [PMID: 37386103 PMCID: PMC10444618 DOI: 10.1038/s41562-023-01618-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2022] [Accepted: 05/05/2023] [Indexed: 07/01/2023]
Abstract
Genetic inheritance is not the only way parents' genes may affect children. It is also possible that parents' genes are associated with investments into children's development. We examined evidence for links between parental genetics and parental investments, from the prenatal period through to adulthood, using data from six population-based cohorts in the UK, US and New Zealand, together totalling 36,566 parents. Our findings revealed associations between parental genetics-summarized in a genome-wide polygenic score-and parental behaviour across development, from smoking in pregnancy, breastfeeding in infancy, parenting in childhood and adolescence, to leaving a wealth inheritance to adult children. Effect sizes tended to be small at any given time point, ranging from RR = 1.12 (95% confidence interval (95%CI) 1.09, 1.15) to RR = 0.76 (95%CI 0.72, 0.80) during the prenatal period and infancy; β = 0.07 (95%CI 0.04, 0.11) to β = 0.29 (95%CI 0.27, 0.32) in childhood and adolescence, and RR = 1.04 (95%CI 1.01, 1.06) to RR = 1.11 (95%CI 1.07, 1.15) in adulthood. There was evidence for accumulating effects across development, ranging from β = 0.15 (95%CI 0.11, 0.18) to β = 0.23 (95%CI 0.16, 0.29) depending on cohort. Our findings are consistent with the interpretation that parents pass on advantages to offspring not only via direct genetic transmission or purely environmental paths, but also via genetic associations with parental investment from conception to wealth inheritance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jasmin Wertz
- Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
| | - Terrie E Moffitt
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
- PROMENTA Research Center, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- Center for Genomic and Computational Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Louise Arseneault
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - J C Barnes
- School of Criminal Justice, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA
| | - Michel Boivin
- School of Psychology, Laval University, Quebec, Quebec, Canada
| | - David L Corcoran
- Department of Genetics, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Andrea Danese
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
- National and Specialist CAMHS Clinic for Trauma, Anxiety and Depression, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
| | - Robert J Hancox
- Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - HonaLee Harrington
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Renate M Houts
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Stephanie Langevin
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
- School of Psychology, Laval University, Quebec, Quebec, Canada
| | - Hexuan Liu
- School of Criminal Justice, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA
- Institute for Interdisciplinary Data Science, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA
| | - Richie Poulton
- Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Research Unit, Department of Psychology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Karen Sugden
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
- Center for Genomic and Computational Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Peter T Tanksley
- Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
- Population Research Center, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Benjamin S Williams
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
- Center for Genomic and Computational Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Avshalom Caspi
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
- PROMENTA Research Center, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- Center for Genomic and Computational Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
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11
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Doyle FL, Morawska A, Higgins DJ, Havighurst SS, Mazzucchelli TG, Toumbourou JW, Middeldorp CM, Chainey C, Cobham VE, Harnett P, Sanders MR. Policies are Needed to Increase the Reach and Impact of Evidence-Based Parenting Supports: A Call for a Population-Based Approach to Supporting Parents, Children, and Families. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 2023; 54:891-904. [PMID: 34989941 PMCID: PMC8733919 DOI: 10.1007/s10578-021-01309-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/14/2021] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
Parents can be essential change-agents in their children's lives. To support parents in their parenting role, a range of programs have been developed and evaluated. In this paper, we provide an overview of the evidence for the effectiveness of parenting interventions for parents and children across a range of outcomes, including child and adolescent mental and physical health, child and adolescent competencies and academic outcomes, parental skills and competencies, parental wellbeing and mental health, and prevention of child maltreatment and family violence. Although there is extensive research showing the effectiveness of evidence-based parenting programs, these are not yet widely available at a population level and many parents are unable to access support. We outline how to achieve increased reach of evidence-based parenting supports, highlighting the policy imperative to adequately support the use of these supports as a way to address high priority mental health, physical health, and social problems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frances L. Doyle
- School of Psychology, Faculty of Science, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW Australia
- School of Psychology, The MARCS Institute for Brain Behaviour and Development, Transforming Early Education and Child Health (TeEACH) Research Centre, Translational Health Research Institute, Western Sydney University, Sydney, NSW Australia
| | - Alina Morawska
- Parenting and Family Support Centre, School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD Australia
| | - Daryl J. Higgins
- Institute of Child Protection Studies, Australian Catholic University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Sophie S. Havighurst
- Mindful: Centre for Training and Research in Developmental Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Trevor G. Mazzucchelli
- School of Psychology, Curtin University, Perth, WA Australia
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD Australia
| | - John W. Toumbourou
- Centre for Social and Early Emotional Development, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC, Australia
| | - Christel M. Middeldorp
- Child Health Research Centre, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD Australia
- Child and Youth Mental Health Service, Children’s Health Queensland Hospital and Health Service, Brisbane, QLD Australia
| | - Carys Chainey
- Parenting and Family Support Centre, School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD Australia
| | - Vanessa E. Cobham
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD Australia
- Child and Youth Mental Health Service, Children’s Health Queensland Hospital and Health Service, Brisbane, QLD Australia
| | - Paul Harnett
- School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Matthew R. Sanders
- Parenting and Family Support Centre, School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD Australia
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12
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Hagenbeek FA, Hirzinger JS, Breunig S, Bruins S, Kuznetsov DV, Schut K, Odintsova VV, Boomsma DI. Maximizing the value of twin studies in health and behaviour. Nat Hum Behav 2023:10.1038/s41562-023-01609-6. [PMID: 37188734 DOI: 10.1038/s41562-023-01609-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2022] [Accepted: 04/19/2023] [Indexed: 05/17/2023]
Abstract
In the classical twin design, researchers compare trait resemblance in cohorts of identical and non-identical twins to understand how genetic and environmental factors correlate with resemblance in behaviour and other phenotypes. The twin design is also a valuable tool for studying causality, intergenerational transmission, and gene-environment correlation and interaction. Here we review recent developments in twin studies, recent results from twin studies of new phenotypes and recent insights into twinning. We ask whether the results of existing twin studies are representative of the general population and of global diversity, and we conclude that stronger efforts to increase representativeness are needed. We provide an updated overview of twin concordance and discordance for major diseases and mental disorders, which conveys a crucial message: genetic influences are not as deterministic as many believe. This has important implications for public understanding of genetic risk prediction tools, as the accuracy of genetic predictions can never exceed identical twin concordance rates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fiona A Hagenbeek
- Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
- Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
| | - Jana S Hirzinger
- Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Department of Complex Trait Genetics, Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Sophie Breunig
- Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
- Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Susanne Bruins
- Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Dmitry V Kuznetsov
- Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Faculty of Sociology, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Kirsten Schut
- Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Nightingale Health Plc, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Veronika V Odintsova
- Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Amsterdam Reproduction & Development (AR&D) Research Institute, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Department of Psychiatry, University Medical Center of Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Dorret I Boomsma
- Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
- Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
- Amsterdam Reproduction & Development (AR&D) Research Institute, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
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13
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McAdams TA, Cheesman R, Ahmadzadeh YI. Annual Research Review: Towards a deeper understanding of nature and nurture: combining family-based quasi-experimental methods with genomic data. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2023; 64:693-707. [PMID: 36379220 PMCID: PMC10952916 DOI: 10.1111/jcpp.13720] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Distinguishing between the effects of nature and nurture constitutes a major research goal for those interested in understanding human development. It is known, for example, that many parent traits predict mental health outcomes in children, but the causal processes underlying such associations are often unclear. Family-based quasi-experimental designs such as sibling comparison, adoption and extended family studies have been used for decades to distinguish the genetic transmission of risk from the environmental effects family members potentially have on one another. Recently, these designs have been combined with genomic data, and this combination is fuelling a range of exciting methodological advances. In this review we explore these advances - highlighting the ways in which they have been applied to date and considering what they are likely to teach us in the coming years about the aetiology and intergenerational transmission of psychopathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tom A. McAdams
- Social Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and NeuroscienceKing's College LondonLondonUK
- PROMENTA Research Centre, Department of PsychologyUniversity of OsloOsloNorway
| | - Rosa Cheesman
- Social Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and NeuroscienceKing's College LondonLondonUK
- PROMENTA Research Centre, Department of PsychologyUniversity of OsloOsloNorway
| | - Yasmin I. Ahmadzadeh
- Social Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and NeuroscienceKing's College LondonLondonUK
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14
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Mustonen A, Alakokkare AE, Scott JG, Halt AH, Vuori M, Hurtig T, Rodriguez A, Miettunen J, Niemelä S. Association of ADHD symptoms in adolescence and mortality in Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986. Nord J Psychiatry 2023; 77:165-171. [PMID: 35549976 DOI: 10.1080/08039488.2022.2073389] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) has been associated with increased risk of mortality in large register samples. However, there is less known about the association between symptoms of ADHD in adolescents and risk of mortality in general population samples. METHODS The Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986 (n = 9432 at recruitment in early pregnancy) linked to nationwide register data for deaths was utilized to study the association between parent-rated ADHD symptoms assessed using Strengths and Weaknesses of ADHD symptoms and Normal Behaviors (SWAN) questionnaire and mortality until age 33 years. Cox-regression analysis with hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) was used to study the association between SWAN inattentive, hyperactive, and combined symptom scores and risk of death. RESULTS Sixty-three (0.9%) of the 6685 participants died during the follow-up. Higher SWAN inattentive (crude HR = 2.30, 95% CI 1.46-3.63), SWAN hyperactive (crude HR = 2.43, 95% CI 1.29-4.56), and SWAN combined (crude HR = 2.69, 95% CI 1.57-4.61) scores were associated with increased risk of death. After adjustments for sex, family structure, and lifetime parental psychiatric disorder, these associations persisted. Further adjustment for frequent alcohol intoxication, cannabis, and other substance use in adolescence attenuated these to below statistical significance. CONCLUSIONS These results extend previous findings on the risk of mortality in adolescents who have symptoms of ADHD. Further research with larger samples are needed to determine whether the association between ADHD symptoms and mortality is independent of adolescent substance use.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antti Mustonen
- Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland.,Center for Life Course Health Research, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.,Department of Psychiatry, Seinäjoki Central Hospital, Seinäjoki, Finland
| | - Anni-Emilia Alakokkare
- Center for Life Course Health Research, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.,Department of Psychiatry, University of Turku, Turku, Finland.,Medical Research Center Oulu, Oulu University Hospital and University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
| | - James G Scott
- QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.,Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research, Wacol, Australia.,Metro North Mental Health Service, Herston, Australia
| | - Anu-Helmi Halt
- Research Unit of Clinical Neuroscience, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.,Department of Psychiatry, Oulu University Hospital, Oulu, Finland
| | - Miika Vuori
- Turku Institute of Advanced Studies, Department of Teacher Education, University of Turku, Finland
| | - Tuula Hurtig
- Research Unit of Clinical Neuroscience, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.,PEDEGO Research Unit, Clinic of Child Psychiatry, University of Oulu, Oulu University Hospital, Oulu, Finland
| | - Alina Rodriguez
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Imperial College London, London, UK.,Centre for Psychiatry and Mental Health, Wolfson Institute of Population Health, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Jouko Miettunen
- Center for Life Course Health Research, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.,Medical Research Center Oulu, Oulu University Hospital and University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
| | - Solja Niemelä
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Turku, Turku, Finland.,Addiction Psychiatry Unit, Department of Psychiatry, Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland
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15
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Shared genetic influences between depression and conduct disorder in children and adolescents: A systematic review. J Affect Disord 2023; 322:31-38. [PMID: 36356897 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2022.11.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2022] [Revised: 10/25/2022] [Accepted: 11/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION The co-occurrence between major depression disorder (MDD) and conduct disorder (CD) is common across development and represents a significant risk factor for future psychiatric problems and long-term impairment. Large-scale quantitative genetic studies suggest that the MDD-CD co-occurrence may be partly explained by shared genetic vulnerability factors, in line with transdiagnostic models of psychopathology, but no systematic synthesis of the literature is currently available. METHODS We therefore conducted a systematic review of the available genetic literature on the co-occurrence between MDD and CD in children and adolescents. We identified 10 eligible studies, including 5 cross-sectional bivariate/multivariate twin studies, 3 longitudinal bivariate/multivariate twin studies, and 2 latent profile/trajectory twin studies. RESULTS Most of the reviewed studies found a strong contribution of shared genetic factors on the covariation between depression and conduct problems, in line with the prominent effect of a common genetic liability across development. LIMITATIONS The scientific literature on this psychiatric comorbidity is still limited, as it solely consists of twin studies from high income countries. CONCLUSION Considering the joint burden of MDD and CD on youth, families and society worldwide, future studies are needed to better investigate the shared risk processes of these frequently co-occurring conditions, in order to inform new treatments through personalized medicine.
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16
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Balbona JV, Kim Y, Keller MC. The estimation of environmental and genetic parental influences. Dev Psychopathol 2022; 34:1-11. [PMID: 36524242 PMCID: PMC10272284 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579422000761] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Parents share half of their genes with their children, but they also share background social factors and actively help shape their child's environment - making it difficult to disentangle genetic and environmental causes of parent-offspring similarity. While adoption and extended twin family designs have been extremely useful for distinguishing genetic and nongenetic parental influences, these designs entail stringent assumptions about phenotypic similarity between relatives and require samples that are difficult to collect and therefore are typically small and not publicly shared. Here, we describe these traditional designs, as well as modern approaches that use large, publicly available genome-wide data sets to estimate parental effects. We focus in particular on an approach we recently developed, structural equation modeling (SEM)-polygenic score (PGS), that instantiates the logic of modern PGS-based methods within the flexible SEM framework used in traditional designs. Genetically informative designs such as SEM-PGS rely on different and, in some cases, less rigid assumptions than traditional approaches; thus, they allow researchers to capitalize on new data sources and answer questions that could not previously be investigated. We believe that SEM-PGS and similar approaches can lead to improved insight into how nature and nurture combine to create the incredible diversity underlying human behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jared V. Balbona
- Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80303, USA
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO 80303, USA
| | - Yongkang Kim
- Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80303, USA
| | - Matthew C. Keller
- Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80303, USA
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO 80303, USA
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17
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Quagliato LA, de Matos UMA, Nardi AE. Lifetime psychopathology in the offspring of parents with anxiety disorders: A systematic review. J Affect Disord 2022; 319:618-626. [PMID: 36174782 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2022.09.049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2022] [Revised: 05/25/2022] [Accepted: 09/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The offspring of parents with Anxiety Disorders (AD) are at high risk for different types of psychopathology, including AD. However, little is known about how parental anxiety during pregnancy and/or the postnatal period might result in alterations in behavior or neurodevelopmental changes in offspring. To examine the effect of parental AD on offspring behavior and neurodevelopment, we conducted a systematic review. METHODS Following PRISMA guidelines, we searched the Web of Science, PubMed, and PsycINFO databases. RESULTS Forty-seven articles met the inclusion criteria for the systematic review. Prenatal maternal anxiety is related to negative temperament, increased attention to fearful vocalizations, decreased alertness, and impaired psychomotor and cognitive development in early and middle childhood. AD during the postnatal period is associated with greater negative temperament, internalizing symptoms, and anxiety symptoms in early childhood, middle childhood, and adolescence. CONCLUSION Our review is the first to demonstrate that prenatal and postnatal AD symptoms impact offspring. Future research should explore the mediating and moderating factors leading to the development of psychopathology in the offspring of parents with AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laiana A Quagliato
- Laboratory of Panic & Respiration, Institute of Psychiatry, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rua Voluntários da Pátria 190 s. 722, 22270-010, Brazil.
| | - Ursula M A de Matos
- Laboratory of Panic & Respiration, Institute of Psychiatry, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rua Voluntários da Pátria 190 s. 722, 22270-010, Brazil
| | - Antonio E Nardi
- Laboratory of Panic & Respiration, Institute of Psychiatry, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rua Voluntários da Pátria 190 s. 722, 22270-010, Brazil
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18
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Plomin R. The next 10 years of behavioural genomic research. JCPP ADVANCES 2022; 2:e12112. [PMID: 37431418 PMCID: PMC10242940 DOI: 10.1002/jcv2.12112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2022] [Accepted: 09/23/2022] [Indexed: 12/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Background The explosion caused by the fusion of quantitative genetics and molecular genetics will transform behavioural genetic research in child and adolescent psychology and psychiatry. Methods Although the fallout has not yet settled, the goal of this paper is to predict the next 10 years of research in what could be called behavioural genomics. Results I focus on three research directions: the genetic architecture of psychopathology, causal modelling of gene-environment interplay, and the use of DNA as an early warning system. Conclusion Eventually, whole-genome sequencing will be available for all newborns, which means that behavioural genomics could potentially be applied ubiquitously in research and clinical practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert Plomin
- King's College LondonInstitute of PsychiatryPsychology and NeuroscienceLondonUK
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19
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Hartman CA, Richards JS, Vrijen C, Oldehinkel AJ, Oerlemans AM, Kretschmer T. Cohort Profile Update: The TRacking Adolescents' Individual Lives Survey-The Next Generation (TRAILS NEXT). Int J Epidemiol 2022; 51:e267-e275. [PMID: 35462400 PMCID: PMC9557833 DOI: 10.1093/ije/dyac066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2021] [Accepted: 03/29/2022] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Catharina A Hartman
- Interdisciplinary Center Psychopathology and Emotion Regulation, University of Groningen, Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Jennifer S Richards
- Interdisciplinary Center Psychopathology and Emotion Regulation, University of Groningen, Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Charlotte Vrijen
- Department of Pedagogical Sciences, Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Albertine J Oldehinkel
- Interdisciplinary Center Psychopathology and Emotion Regulation, University of Groningen, Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Anoek M Oerlemans
- Interdisciplinary Center Psychopathology and Emotion Regulation, University of Groningen, Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
- Department of Pedagogical Sciences, Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Tina Kretschmer
- Department of Pedagogical Sciences, Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
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20
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Sellers R, Riglin L, Harold GT, Thapar A. Using genetic designs to identify likely causal environmental contributions to psychopathology. Dev Psychopathol 2022; 34:1-13. [PMID: 36200346 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579422000906] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
The multifactorial nature of psychopathology, whereby both genetic and environmental factors contribute risk, has long been established. In this paper, we provide an update on genetically informative designs that are utilized to disentangle genetic and environmental contributions to psychopathology. We provide a brief reminder of quantitative behavioral genetic research designs that have been used to identify potentially causal environmental processes, accounting for genetic contributions. We also provide an overview of recent molecular genetic approaches that utilize genome-wide association study data which are increasingly being applied to questions relevant to psychopathology research. While genetically informative designs typically have been applied to investigate the origins of psychopathology, we highlight how these approaches can also be used to elucidate potential causal environmental processes that contribute to developmental course and outcomes. We highlight the need to use genetically sensitive designs that align with intervention and prevention science efforts, by considering strengths-based environments to investigate how positive environments can mitigate risk and promote children's strengths.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruth Sellers
- Brighton & Sussex Medical School, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
| | - Lucy Riglin
- Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
- Wolfson Centre for Young People's Mental Health, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| | - Gordon T Harold
- Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- School of Medicine, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Unit, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Anita Thapar
- Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
- Wolfson Centre for Young People's Mental Health, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
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21
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Eilertsen EM, Cheesman R, Ayorech Z, Røysamb E, Pingault J, Njølstad PR, Andreassen OA, Havdahl A, McAdams TA, Torvik FA, Ystrøm E. On the importance of parenting in externalizing disorders: an evaluation of indirect genetic effects in families. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2022; 63:1186-1195. [PMID: 35778910 PMCID: PMC9796091 DOI: 10.1111/jcpp.13654] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/08/2022] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Theoretical models of the development of childhood externalizing disorders emphasize the role of parents. Empirical studies have not been able to identify specific aspects of parental behaviors explaining a considerable proportion of the observed individual differences in externalizing problems. The problem is complicated by the contribution of genetic factors to externalizing problems, as parents provide both genes and environments to their children. We studied the joint contributions of direct genetic effects of children and the indirect genetic effects of parents through the environment on externalizing problems. METHODS The study used genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism data from 9,675 parent-offspring trios participating in the Norwegian Mother Father and child cohort study. Based on genomic relatedness matrices, we estimated the contribution of direct genetic effects and indirect maternal and paternal genetic effects on ADHD, conduct and disruptive behaviors at 8 years of age. RESULTS Models including indirect parental genetic effects were preferred for the ADHD symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity, and conduct problems, but not oppositional defiant behaviors. Direct genetic effects accounted for 11% to 24% of the variance, whereas indirect parental genetic effects accounted for 0% to 16% in ADHD symptoms and conduct problems. The correlation between direct and indirect genetic effects, or gene-environment correlations, decreased the variance with 16% and 13% for conduct and inattention problems, and increased the variance with 6% for hyperactivity problems. CONCLUSIONS This study provides empirical support to the notion that parents have a significant role in the development of childhood externalizing behaviors. The parental contribution to decrease in variation of inattention and conduct problems by gene-environment correlations would limit the number of children reaching clinical ranges in symptoms. Not accounting for indirect parental genetic effects can lead to both positive and negative bias when identifying genetic variants for childhood externalizing behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Espen M. Eilertsen
- Department of Psychology, PROMENTA Research CenterUniversity of OsloOsloNorway,Centre for Fertility and HealthNorwegian Institute of Public HealthOsloNorway
| | - Rosa Cheesman
- Department of Psychology, PROMENTA Research CenterUniversity of OsloOsloNorway
| | - Ziada Ayorech
- Department of Psychology, PROMENTA Research CenterUniversity of OsloOsloNorway
| | - Espen Røysamb
- Department of Psychology, PROMENTA Research CenterUniversity of OsloOsloNorway
| | - Jean‐Baptiste Pingault
- Division of Psychology and Language SciencesUniversity College LondonLondonUK,MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry CentreInstitute of Psychiatry, King's CollegeLondonUK
| | - Pål R. Njølstad
- Department of Clinical Science, Center for Diabetes ResearchUniversity of BergenBergenNorway,Children and Youth ClinicHaukeland University HospitalBergenNorway
| | - Ole A. Andreassen
- Division of Mental Health and Addiction, NORMENTOslo University HospitalOsloNorway,Institute of Clinical MedicineUniversity of OsloOsloNorway
| | - Alexandra Havdahl
- Department of Psychology, PROMENTA Research CenterUniversity of OsloOsloNorway,Department of Mental DisordersNorwegian Institute of Public HealthOsloNorway,Nic Waals Institute, Lovisenberg Diaconal HospitalOsloNorway
| | - Tom A. McAdams
- Department of Psychology, PROMENTA Research CenterUniversity of OsloOsloNorway,Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry CentreInstitute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College LondonLondonUK
| | - Fartein A. Torvik
- Department of Psychology, PROMENTA Research CenterUniversity of OsloOsloNorway,Centre for Fertility and HealthNorwegian Institute of Public HealthOsloNorway
| | - Eivind Ystrøm
- Department of Psychology, PROMENTA Research CenterUniversity of OsloOsloNorway,Department of Mental DisordersNorwegian Institute of Public HealthOsloNorway,School of PharmacyUniversity of OsloOsloNorway
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22
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Berg V, Kuja-Halkola R, Khemiri L, Larsson H, Lichtenstein P, Latvala A. Parental alcohol and drug abuse and offspring mortality by age 10: a population-based register study. Eur J Public Health 2022; 32:933-938. [PMID: 36172920 DOI: 10.1093/eurpub/ckac142] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Parental substance abuse (SA) of alcohol and drugs is associated with offspring mortality, including sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), in infancy, but research on cause-specific mortality and mortality in later childhood is scarce. METHODS Using population-based register data on all births in Sweden in 1973-2013 (N = 4.2 million) and Cox regressions, we examined the associations of mother's and father's SA registered between 2 years before and 12 years after the child birth with offspring all-cause and cause-specific mortality in infancy and childhood. RESULTS Parental SA was associated with increased offspring all-cause and natural-cause mortality in infancy, but not in the neonatal period, and with external-cause mortality in ages 1-9. Risk of SIDS was 130-280% higher in infants with parental SA compared to infants with no parental SA. Adjusting for parental socioeconomic and immigrant status and severe psychiatric disorders, paternal SA was associated with 66% higher mortality due to communicable diseases and infections in infancy, and both maternal and paternal SA were associated with 40-174% higher mortality due to accidents in infancy and in ages 1-9. The associations between parental SA and offspring mortality were similar for male and female offspring. CONCLUSIONS Child mortality is rare in contemporary Sweden, and parental SA has variable associations with elevated offspring mortality throughout the first 10 years of life, excluding the neonatal period, which is indicative of insufficient recognition of children at risk. Preventive measures should be long-term and targeted to both parental and offspring behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Venla Berg
- Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.,Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Solna, Sweden.,Institute of Criminology and Legal Policy, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.,Population Research Institute, Väestöliitto, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Ralf Kuja-Halkola
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Solna, Sweden
| | - Lotfi Khemiri
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Solna, Sweden
| | - Henrik Larsson
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Solna, Sweden.,School of Medical Sciences, Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden
| | - Paul Lichtenstein
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Solna, Sweden
| | - Antti Latvala
- Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.,Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Solna, Sweden.,Institute of Criminology and Legal Policy, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
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23
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Kretschmer T. Parenting is genetically influenced: What does that mean for research into child and adolescent social development? SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/sode.12633] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Tina Kretschmer
- Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences University of Groningen Groningen Netherlands
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24
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Tucker JRD, Hobson CW. A Systematic Review of Longitudinal Studies Investigating the Association Between Early Life Maternal Depression and Offspring ADHD. J Atten Disord 2022; 26:1167-1186. [PMID: 34937415 DOI: 10.1177/10870547211063642] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The systematic review sought to understand the relationship between maternal depression and later ADHD in children. METHOD Three databases were used to identify the studies (Medline, Web of Science and PsychInfo) resulting in 1,223 studies being screened and 14 articles being included in the review. RESULTS The majority of studies (N = 11) reported a significant relationship between maternal depression (across both prenatal and postnatal periods) and ADHD symptoms in children. This relationship remained significant when temperament, or past ADHD symptoms were controlled for. Several methodological issues were identified including; overreliance on maternal report and parental ADHD not being accounted for in most studies. CONCLUSION The review adds to the literature regarding the temporal relationship between maternal depression and the development of ADHD in children, and thus supports the case for improving access to mental health services for mothers as a preventative strategy in the development of child psychopathology.
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25
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Burt SA, Clark DA, Neiderhiser JM. Illuminating the origins of the intergenerational transmission of psychopathology with a novel genetically informed design. Dev Psychopathol 2022; 34:1-11. [PMID: 35635214 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579422000451] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Although it is well known that parental depression is transmitted within families across generations, the etiology of this transmission remains unclear. Our goal was to develop a novel study design capable of explicitly examining the etiologic sources of intergenerational transmission. We specifically leveraged naturally-occurring variations in genetic relatedness between parents and their adolescent children in the 720 families participating in the Nonshared Environment in Adolescent Development (NEAD) study, 58.5% of which included a rearing stepparent (nearly always a stepfather). Results pointed squarely to the environmental transmission of psychopathology between fathers and children. Paternal depression was associated with adolescent depression and adolescent behavior problems (i.e., antisocial behavior, headstrong behavior, and attention problems) regardless of whether or not fathers and their children were genetically related. Moreover, these associations persisted to a subset of "blended" families in which the father was biologically related to one participating child but not to the other, and appeared to be mediated via father-child conflict. Such findings are not only fully consistent with the environmental transmission of psychopathology across generations, but also add to extant evidence that parent-child conflict is a robust and at least partially environmental predictor of adolescent psychopathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Alexandra Burt
- Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
| | | | - Jenae M Neiderhiser
- Department of Psychology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
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26
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The role of parenting behavior’s on the intergenerational covariation of grit. CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s12144-022-03185-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
AbstractThis study evaluates parental grit’s covariation with offspring grit and the moderating role of different parenting behaviors using an 11-country study of young adults between the ages of 18 and 35 (n = 20,008) and their parents (n = 5945). Results show that parental grit is associated with offspring’s grit with moderation of parenting present across the models presented. The study also highlights the direct association of various parenting dimensions with grit, especially the positive relation of parental control. These results have important implications for understanding young people’s grit development and learning mechanisms. Findings can serve as foundations for effective intervention programs and practices in this field designed to improve enthusiasm, interest, capacity for hard work, engagement, and motivation in the long run.
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27
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Ahmadzadeh YI, Eley TC, Hannigan L, Creswell C, Lichtenstein P, Spotts E, Ganiban J, Neiderhiser J, Rijsdijk F, McAdams TA. Parental criticism and adolescent internalising symptoms: using a Children-of-Twins design with power calculations to account for genetic influence. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2022; 63:599-607. [PMID: 34374994 PMCID: PMC8828800 DOI: 10.1111/jcpp.13498] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/18/2021] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Parental criticism is correlated with internalising symptoms in adolescent offspring. This correlation could in part reflect their genetic relatedness, if the same genes influence behaviours in both parents and offspring. We use a Children-of-Twins design to assess whether parent-reported criticism and offspring internalising symptoms remain associated after controlling for shared genes. To aid interpretation of our results and those of previous Children-of-Twins studies, we examine statistical power for the detection of genetic effects and explore the direction of possible causal effects between generations. METHODS Data were drawn from two Swedish twin samples, comprising 876 adult twin pairs with adolescent offspring and 1,030 adolescent twin pairs with parents. Parent reports of criticism towards their offspring were collected concurrently with parent and offspring reports of adolescent internalising symptoms. Children-of-Twins structural equation models were used to control for genetic influence on the intergenerational association between parental criticism and adolescent internalising. RESULTS Parental criticism was associated with adolescent internalising symptoms after controlling for genetic influence. No significant role was found for shared genes influencing phenotypes in both generations, although power analyses suggested that some genetic effects may have gone undetected. Models could not distinguish directionality for nongenetic, causal effects between generations. CONCLUSIONS Parental criticism may be involved in psychosocial family processes in the context of adolescent internalising. Future studies should seek to identify these processes and provide clarity on the direction of potential causal effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yasmin I Ahmadzadeh
- Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Thalia C Eley
- Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Laurie Hannigan
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
- Nic Waals Institute, Lovisenberg Diaconal Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Cathy Creswell
- Departments of Experimental Psychology and Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Paul Lichtenstein
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Erica Spotts
- Office of Behavioral and Social Science Research, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Jody Ganiban
- Department of Psychology, George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Jenae Neiderhiser
- Department of Psychology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Fruhling Rijsdijk
- Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Tom A McAdams
- Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
- Promenta Research Centre, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
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28
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Parental mental health and risk of poor mental health and death by suicide in offspring: a population-wide data-linkage study. Epidemiol Psychiatr Sci 2022; 31:e25. [PMID: 35438075 PMCID: PMC9069591 DOI: 10.1017/s2045796022000063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
AIMS Suicide is a major public health concern. Identifying those most at risk is vital to ensure the implementation of effective interventions. Mental health (MH) is known to have a genetic component and parental MH is associated with offspring MH. However, little is known about the effect of parental psychopathology on offspring suicide risk. The aim of this study is to determine if children living with parents with poor MH are at an increased risk of poor MH, or death by suicide. METHODS This population-wide cohort study linked data from the 2011 Northern Ireland Census to 6 years' death records (2011-2016). Information on MH status, in addition to other individual and household-level attributes, was derived from the 2011 Census. Logistic regression was utilised to examine the association between parental poor MH and offspring MH and suicide risk, with adjustment for socio-demographic characteristics. RESULTS Overall, 11.6% of the cohort of 618 970 individuals were residing with parents who reported poor MH; 1.6% reported poor MH themselves, and 0.04% (n = 260) died by suicide. Living with a parent with poor MH increased the odds of offspring poor MH (OR = 2.80, 95% CI 2.59-3.03). After adjustment for age, gender, physical illness, socio-economic status and own MH, children living with 1 parent with poor MH were 76% more likely to die by suicide compared to children of parents who did not report poor MH (OR = 1.76, 95% CI 1.31-2.36). The effect size increased for children living with 2 parents with poor MH, and was higher in children aged under 24 years. CONCLUSIONS Living with a parent with poor MH is a significant risk factor for offspring poor MH and suicide, even after adjustment for personal MH status. When treating mental ill-health in parents, potential interventions for their children should also be considered.
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29
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Latvala A, Kuja-Halkola R, D'Onofrio BM, Jayaram-Lindström N, Larsson H, Lichtenstein P. Association of parental substance misuse with offspring substance misuse and criminality: a genetically informed register-based study. Psychol Med 2022; 52:496-505. [PMID: 32597745 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291720002135] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Genetically informed studies have provided mixed findings as to what extent parental substance misuse is associated with offspring substance misuse and antisocial behavior due to shared environmental and genetic factors. METHODS We linked data from nationwide registries for a cohort of 2 476 198 offspring born in Sweden 1958-1995 and their parents. Substance misuse was defined as International Classification of Diseases diagnoses of alcohol/drug use disorders or alcohol/drug-related criminal convictions. Quantitative genetic offspring-of-siblings analyses in offspring of monozygotic and dizygotic twin, full-sibling, and half-sibling parents were conducted. RESULTS Both maternal and paternal substance misuse were robustly associated with offspring substance misuse [maternal adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) = 1.83 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.80-1.87); paternal aHR = 1.96 (1.94-1.98)] and criminal convictions [maternal aHR = 1.56 (1.54-1.58); paternal aHR = 1.66 (1.64-1.67)]. Additive genetic effects explained 42% (95% CI 25-56%) and 46% (36-55%) of the variance in maternal and paternal substance misuse, respectively, and between 36 and 44% of the variance in substance misuse and criminality in offspring. The associations between parental substance misuse and offspring outcomes were mostly due to additive genetic effects, which explained 54-85% of the parent-offspring covariance. However, both nuclear and extended family environmental factors also contributed to the associations, especially with offspring substance misuse. CONCLUSIONS Our findings from a large offspring-of-siblings study indicate that shared genetic influences mostly explain the associations between parental substance misuse and both offspring substance misuse and criminality, but we also found evidence for the contribution of environmental factors shared by members of nuclear and extended families.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antti Latvala
- Institute of Criminology and Legal Policy, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Ralf Kuja-Halkola
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Brian M D'Onofrio
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
| | - Nitya Jayaram-Lindström
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Center for Psychiatry Research, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Henrik Larsson
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- School of Medical Sciences, Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden
| | - Paul Lichtenstein
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
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30
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Xu Y, Norton S, Rahman Q. Adolescent Sexual Behavior Patterns, Mental Health, and Early Life Adversities in a British Birth Cohort. JOURNAL OF SEX RESEARCH 2022; 59:1-12. [PMID: 34379012 DOI: 10.1080/00224499.2021.1959509] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
This study tested adolescent sexual behavior patterns at age 14, their association with mental health at age 17 (psychological well-being, substance use, and self-harm attempts), and the influence of early life adversities upon this association. A British birth cohort (5,593 boys and 5,724 girls from the Millennium Cohort Study) was used. Latent class analysis suggested five subgroups of adolescent sexual behaviors: a "no sexual behavior" (50.74%), a "kisser" (39.92%), a "touching under clothes" (4.71%), a "genital touching" (2.64%), and an "all sexual activities" class (1.99%). Adolescents from the "kisser," "touching under clothes," "genital touching," and "all sexual activities" classes reported significantly more substance use and self-harm attempts compared to adolescents from the "no sexual behavior" group. The associations became weaker after controlling for early life adversities (reducing around 4.38% to 37.35% for boys, and 9.29% to 52.56% for girls), and reduced to a smaller degree after further controlling for mental health variables at 14. The associations between sexual behaviors and psychological well-being became non-significant after controlling for early life adversities. Adolescents who have engaged in low-intensity sexual activities at early age may have poorer reported mental health, a pattern that is stronger for girls and early life adversity may partially explain this association.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yin Xu
- Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Medical Sciences, Örebro University
| | - Sam Norton
- Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London
| | - Qazi Rahman
- Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London
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31
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Plomin R, von Stumm S. Polygenic scores: prediction versus explanation. Mol Psychiatry 2022; 27:49-52. [PMID: 34686768 PMCID: PMC8960389 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-021-01348-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2021] [Revised: 10/01/2021] [Accepted: 10/04/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
During the past decade, polygenic scores have become a fast-growing area of research in the behavioural sciences. The ability to directly assess people's genetic propensities has transformed research by making it possible to add genetic predictors of traits to any study. The value of polygenic scores in the behavioural sciences rests on using inherited DNA differences to predict, from birth, common disorders and complex traits in unrelated individuals in the population. This predictive power of polygenic scores does not require knowing anything about the processes that lie between genes and behaviour. It also does not mandate disentangling the extent to which the prediction is due to assortative mating, genotype-environment correlation, or even population stratification. Although bottom-up explanation from genes to brain to behaviour will remain the long-term goal of the behavioural sciences, prediction is also a worthy achievement because it has immediate practical utility for identifying individuals at risk and is the necessary first step towards explanation. A high priority for research must be to increase the predictive power of polygenic scores to be able to use them as an early warning system to prevent problems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert Plomin
- Social, Genetic & Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.
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32
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Ask H, Eilertsen EM, Gjerde LC, Hannigan LJ, Gustavson K, Havdahl A, Cheesman R, McAdams TA, Hettema JM, Reichborn‐Kjennerud T, Torvik FA, Ystrom E. Intergenerational transmission of parental neuroticism to emotional problems in 8-year-old children: Genetic and environmental influences. JCPP ADVANCES 2021; 1:e12054. [PMID: 37431400 PMCID: PMC10242898 DOI: 10.1002/jcv2.12054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2020] [Accepted: 10/11/2021] [Indexed: 09/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Background Children of parents with high levels of neuroticism tend to have high neuroticism themselves as well as increased risk of experiencing symptoms of anxiety and depression. It is not yet clear how much of this link is attributable to a potential effect of parent on child (e.g., via a socializing effect) versus to shared genetic risk. We aimed to determine whether there is an intergenerational association after accounting for genetic transmission and assortative mating. Methods We used data from the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study including 11,088 sibling pairs in the parental generation, their partners (N = 22,176) and their offspring (N = 26,091). Exposures were maternal and paternal neuroticism (self-reported), and the outcomes were neuroticism, symptoms of depression, and symptoms of anxiety in 8-year-old children (mother-reported). Results After accounting for assortative mating in parents (phenotypic r = 0.26) and genetic transmission (explaining 0%-18% of the mother-offspring correlations), potential maternal effects explained 80% (95% CI = 47-95) of the association with offspring neuroticism (mother-child r = 0.31), 78% (95% CI = 66-89) of the association with offspring depressive symptoms (r = 0.31), and 98% (95% CI = 45-112) of the association with offspring anxiety symptoms (r = 0.16). Intergenerational transmission of genetic variants associated with paternal neuroticism accounted for ∼40% (CI = 22%-58%) of the father-offspring correlations with neuroticism and symptoms of depression (r = 0.13 and 0.13, respectively) but none with offspring symptoms of anxiety (r = 0.05). The remaining father-offspring correlations were explained by maternal influences through assortative mating. Conclusions These results are consistent with direct effects between maternal and offspring neuroticism and between maternal neuroticism and offspring symptoms of anxiety and depression. Further understanding of these intergenerational processes will require an adequate model of how these constructs (neuroticism, anxiety and depression) relate to each other within generations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helga Ask
- Department of Mental DisordersNorwegian Institute of Public HealthOsloNorway
| | | | - Line C. Gjerde
- Department of Mental DisordersNorwegian Institute of Public HealthOsloNorway
- PROMENTA Research CenterUniversity of OsloOsloNorway
| | | | - Kristin Gustavson
- Department of Mental DisordersNorwegian Institute of Public HealthOsloNorway
- PROMENTA Research CenterUniversity of OsloOsloNorway
| | - Alexandra Havdahl
- Department of Mental DisordersNorwegian Institute of Public HealthOsloNorway
- PROMENTA Research CenterUniversity of OsloOsloNorway
- Nic Waals InstituteLovisenberg Diaconal HospitalOsloNorway
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology UnitUniversity of BristolBristolUK
| | - Rosa Cheesman
- Social Genetic & Developmental Psychiatry CentreKing's College LondonLondonUK
| | - Tom A. McAdams
- PROMENTA Research CenterUniversity of OsloOsloNorway
- Social Genetic & Developmental Psychiatry CentreKing's College LondonLondonUK
| | | | - Ted Reichborn‐Kjennerud
- Department of Mental DisordersNorwegian Institute of Public HealthOsloNorway
- Institute of Clinical MedicineUniversity of OsloOsloNorway
| | - Fartein A. Torvik
- Centre for Fertility and HealthNorwegian Institute of Public HealthOsloNorway
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of OsloOsloNorway
| | - Eivind Ystrom
- Department of Mental DisordersNorwegian Institute of Public HealthOsloNorway
- PROMENTA Research CenterUniversity of OsloOsloNorway
- School of PharmacyUniversity of OsloOsloNorway
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Sariaslan A, Mikkonen J, Aaltonen M, Hiilamo H, Martikainen P, Fazel S. No causal associations between childhood family income and subsequent psychiatric disorders, substance misuse and violent crime arrests: a nationwide Finnish study of >650 000 individuals and their siblings. Int J Epidemiol 2021; 50:1628-1638. [PMID: 34050646 PMCID: PMC8580272 DOI: 10.1093/ije/dyab099] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2020] [Accepted: 04/16/2021] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Childhood family income has been shown to be associated with later psychiatric disorders, substance misuse and violent crime, but the consistency, strength and causal nature of these associations remain unclear. METHODS We conducted a nationwide cohort and co-sibling study of 650 680 individuals (426 886 siblings) born in Finland between 1986 and 1996 to re-examine these associations by accounting for unmeasured confounders shared between siblings. The participants were followed up from their 15th birthday until they either migrated, died, met criteria for the outcome of interest or reached the end of the study period (31 December 2017 or 31 December 2018 for substance misuse). The associations were adjusted for sex, birth year and birth order, and expressed as adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs). The outcomes included a diagnosis of a severe mental illness (schizophrenia-spectrum disorders or bipolar disorder), depression and anxiety. Substance misuse (e.g. medication prescription, hospitalization or death due to a substance use disorder or arrest for drug-related crime) and violent crime arrests were also examined. Stratified Cox regression models accounted for unmeasured confounders shared between differentially exposed siblings. RESULTS For each $15 000 increase in family income at age 15 years, the risks of the outcomes were reduced by between 9% in severe mental illness (aHR = 0.91; 95% confidence interval: 0.90-0.92) and 23% in violent crime arrests (aHR = 0.77; 0.76-0.78). These associations were fully attenuated in the sibling-comparison models (aHR range: 0.99-1.00). Sensitivity analyses confirmed the latter findings. CONCLUSIONS Associations between childhood family income and subsequent risks for psychiatric disorders, substance misuse and violent crime arrest were not consistent with a causal interpretation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amir Sariaslan
- Social and Public Policy Unit, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Janne Mikkonen
- Population Research Unit, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Mikko Aaltonen
- UEF Law School, University of Eastern Finland, Joensuu, Finland
| | - Heikki Hiilamo
- Social and Public Policy Unit, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), Helsinki, Finland
| | - Pekka Martikainen
- Population Research Unit, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Centre for Health Equity Studies (CHESS), Stockholm University and Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany
| | - Seena Fazel
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Warneford Hospital, Oxford, UK
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Eilertsen EM, Hannigan LJ, McAdams TA, Rijsdijk FV, Czajkowski N, Reichborn-Kjennerud T, Ystrom E, Gjerde LC. Parental Prenatal Symptoms of Depression and Offspring Symptoms of ADHD: A Genetically Informed Intergenerational Study. J Atten Disord 2021; 25:1554-1563. [PMID: 32338109 DOI: 10.1177/1087054720914386] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
Objective: The primary aim of the present study was to separate the direct effect of maternal prenatal depression on offspring ADHD from the passive transmission of genetic liability. Method: A children-of-twins and siblings design including 17,070 extended-family units participating in the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study was used. Self-ratings were obtained from parents using the Symptom Checklist during pregnancy. Maternal ratings using Conner's Parent Rating Scale were obtained when the children were 5 years of age. Results: Genetic influences were important for explaining similarity between parents and offspring. There was also evidence for a maternal effect after accounting for genetic transmission (m = 0.06, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [0.02, 0.09]). Conclusion: Our results were consistent with hypotheses suggesting that maternal prenatal depression influences symptoms of ADHD in offspring. However, the effect was weak and a substantial portion of the association could be accounted for by shared genetic influences.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Nikolai Czajkowski
- Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway.,University of Oslo, Norway
| | | | - Eivind Ystrom
- Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway.,University of Oslo, Norway
| | - Line C Gjerde
- Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway.,University of Oslo, Norway
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D'Onofrio BM, Sjölander A, Lahey BB, Lichtenstein P, Öberg AS. Accounting for Confounding in Observational Studies. Annu Rev Clin Psychol 2021; 16:25-48. [PMID: 32384000 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-032816-045030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
The goal of this review is to enable clinical psychology researchers to more rigorously test competing hypotheses when studying risk factors in observational studies. We argue that there is a critical need for researchers to leverage recent advances in epidemiology/biostatistics related to causal inference and to use innovative approaches to address a key limitation of observational research: the need to account for confounding. We first review theoretical issues related to the study of causation, how causal diagrams can facilitate the identification and testing of competing hypotheses, and the current limitations of observational research in the field. We then describe two broad approaches that help account for confounding: analytic approaches that account for measured traits and designs that account for unmeasured factors. We provide descriptions of several such approaches and highlight their strengths and limitations, particularly as they relate to the etiology and treatment of behavioral health problems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian M D'Onofrio
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 47405, USA; .,Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, SE-171 77 Stockholm, Sweden; , ,
| | - Arvid Sjölander
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, SE-171 77 Stockholm, Sweden; , ,
| | - Benjamin B Lahey
- Departments of Health Studies and Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA;
| | - Paul Lichtenstein
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, SE-171 77 Stockholm, Sweden; , ,
| | - A Sara Öberg
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, SE-171 77 Stockholm, Sweden; , , .,Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA
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36
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Mustonen A, Hielscher E, Miettunen J, Denissoff A, Alakokkare AE, Scott JG, Niemelä S. Adolescent cannabis use, depression and anxiety disorders in the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986. BJPsych Open 2021; 7:e137. [PMID: 36043688 PMCID: PMC8329769 DOI: 10.1192/bjo.2021.967] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Cannabis use has been associated with increased risk of psychiatric disorders. However, associations between adolescent cannabis use, depression and anxiety disorders are inconsistently reported in longitudinal samples. AIMS To study associations of adolescent cannabis use with depression and anxiety disorders. METHOD We used data from the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986, linked to nationwide registers, to study the association between adolescent cannabis use and depression and anxiety disorders until 33 years of age (until 2018). RESULTS We included 6325 participants (48.8% male) in the analyses; 352 (5.6%) participants reported cannabis use until 15-16 years of age. By the end of the follow-up, 583 (9.2%) participants were diagnosed with unipolar depression and 688 (10.9%) were diagnosed with anxiety disorder. Cannabis use in adolescence was associated with an increased risk of depression and anxiety disorders in crude models. After adjusting for parental psychiatric disorder, baseline emotional and behavioural problems, demographic factors and other substance use, using cannabis five or more times was associated with increased risk of anxiety disorders (hazard ratio 2.01, 95% CI 1.15-3.82), and using cannabis once (hazard ratio 1.93, 95% CI 1.30-2.87) or two to four times (hazard ratio 2.02, 95% CI 1.24-3.31) was associated with increased risk of depression. CONCLUSIONS Cannabis use in adolescence was associated with an increased risk of future depression and anxiety disorders. Further research is needed to clarify if this is a causal association, which could then inform public health messages about the use of cannabis in adolescence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antti Mustonen
- Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Finland; Center for Life Course Health Research, University of Oulu, Finland; and Department of Psychiatry, Seinäjoki Central Hospital, Finland
| | - Emily Hielscher
- QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Australia; School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Australia; and Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research, Australia
| | - Jouko Miettunen
- Center for Life Course Health Research, University of Oulu, Finland; and Medical Research Center Oulu, Oulu University Hospital and University of Oulu, Finland
| | | | - Anni-Emilia Alakokkare
- Center for Life Course Health Research, University of Oulu, Finland; and Department of Psychiatry, University of Turku, Finland
| | - James G Scott
- QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Australia; School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Australia; Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research, Australia; and Metro North Mental Health Service, Australia
| | - Solja Niemelä
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Turku, Finland; and Addiction Psychiatry Unit, Department of Psychiatry, Turku University Hospital, Finland
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37
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Ahmadzadeh YI, Schoeler T, Han M, Pingault JB, Creswell C, McAdams TA. Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Genetically Informed Research: Associations Between Parent Anxiety and Offspring Internalizing Problems. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2021; 60:823-840. [PMID: 33675965 PMCID: PMC8259118 DOI: 10.1016/j.jaac.2020.12.037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2020] [Revised: 12/09/2020] [Accepted: 02/25/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Parent anxiety is associated with offspring internalizing problems (emotional problems related to anxiety and depression). This may reflect causal processes, whereby exposure to parent anxiety directly influences offspring internalizing (and/or vice versa). However, parent-offspring associations could also be attributable to their genetic relatedness. A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted to investigate whether exposure to parent anxiety is associated with offspring internalizing after controlling for genetic relatedness. METHOD A literature search across 5 databases identified 429 unique records. Publications were retained if they used a quasi-experimental design in a general population sample to control for participant relatedness in associations between parent anxiety and offspring internalizing outcomes. Publications were excluded if they involved an experimental exposure or intervention. Studies of prenatal and postnatal anxiety exposure were meta-analyzed separately. Pearson's correlation coefficient estimates (r) were pooled using multilevel random-effects models. RESULTS Eight publications were retained. Data were drawn from 4 population cohorts, each unique to a quasi-experimental design: adoption, sibling-comparison, children-of-twins or in vitro fertilization. Cohorts were located in northern Europe or America. Families were predominantly of European ancestry. Three publications (Nfamilies >11,700; offspring age range, 0.5-10 years) showed no association between prenatal anxiety exposure and offspring internalizing outcomes after accounting for participant relatedness (r = .04; 95% CI: -.07, .14). Six publications (Nfamilies >12,700; offspring age range, 0.75-22 years) showed a small but significant association between concurrent symptoms in parents and offspring after accounting for participant relatedness (r = .13; 95% CI: .04, .21). CONCLUSION Initial literature, derived from homogeneous populations, suggests that prenatal anxiety exposure does not cause offspring internalizing outcomes. However, postnatal anxiety exposure may be causally associated with concurrent offspring internalizing via nongenetic pathways. Longitudinal stability, child-to-parent effects, and the role of moderators and methodological biases require attention.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | - Tom A McAdams
- King's College London, United Kingdom; University of Oslo, Norway
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38
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McAdams TA, Rijsdijk FV, Zavos HMS, Pingault JB. Twins and Causal Inference: Leveraging Nature's Experiment. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Med 2021; 11:a039552. [PMID: 32900702 PMCID: PMC8168524 DOI: 10.1101/cshperspect.a039552] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
In this review, we discuss how samples comprising monozygotic and dizygotic twin pairs can be used for the purpose of strengthening causal inference by controlling for shared influences on exposure and outcome. We begin by briefly introducing how twin data can be used to inform the biometric decomposition of population variance into genetic, shared environmental, and nonshared environmental influences. We then discuss how extensions to this model can be used to explore whether associations between exposure and outcome survive correction for shared etiology (common causes). We review several analytical approaches that can be applied to twin data for this purpose. These include multivariate structural equation models, cotwin control methods, direction of causation models (cross-sectional and longitudinal), and extended family designs used to assess intergenerational associations. We conclude by highlighting some of the limitations and considerations that researchers should be aware of when using twin data for the purposes of interrogating causal hypotheses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tom A McAdams
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London SE5 8AF, United Kingdom
- Promenta Research Centre, University of Oslo, Oslo 0373, Norway
| | - Fruhling V Rijsdijk
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London SE5 8AF, United Kingdom
| | - Helena M S Zavos
- Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London SE5 8AF, United Kingdom
| | - Jean-Baptiste Pingault
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London SE5 8AF, United Kingdom
- Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom
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39
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Jami ES, Hammerschlag AR, Bartels M, Middeldorp CM. Parental characteristics and offspring mental health and related outcomes: a systematic review of genetically informative literature. Transl Psychiatry 2021; 11:197. [PMID: 33795643 PMCID: PMC8016911 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-021-01300-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2020] [Revised: 02/19/2021] [Accepted: 03/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Various parental characteristics, including psychiatric disorders and parenting behaviours, are associated with offspring mental health and related outcomes in observational studies. The application of genetically informative designs is crucial to disentangle the role of genetic and environmental factors (as well as gene-environment correlation) underlying these observations, as parents provide not only the rearing environment but also transmit 50% of their genes to their offspring. This article first provides an overview of behavioural genetics, matched-pair, and molecular genetics designs that can be applied to investigate parent-offspring associations, whilst modelling or accounting for genetic effects. We then present a systematic literature review of genetically informative studies investigating associations between parental characteristics and offspring mental health and related outcomes, published since 2014. The reviewed studies provide reliable evidence of genetic transmission of depression, criminal behaviour, educational attainment, and substance use. These results highlight that studies that do not use genetically informative designs are likely to misinterpret the mechanisms underlying these parent-offspring associations. After accounting for genetic effects, several parental characteristics, including parental psychiatric traits and parenting behaviours, were associated with offspring internalising problems, externalising problems, educational attainment, substance use, and personality through environmental pathways. Overall, genetically informative designs to study intergenerational transmission prove valuable for the understanding of individual differences in offspring mental health and related outcomes, and mechanisms of transmission within families.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eshim S Jami
- Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
- Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, London, UK.
| | - Anke R Hammerschlag
- Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam University Medical Centres, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Child Health Research Centre, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Meike Bartels
- Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam University Medical Centres, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Christel M Middeldorp
- Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Child Health Research Centre, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
- Child and Youth Mental Health Service, Children's Health Queensland Hospital and Health Service, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
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40
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Berg V, Kuja-Halkola R, D'Onofrio BM, Lichtenstein P, Latvala A. Parental substance misuse and reproductive timing in offspring: A genetically informed study. EVOL HUM BEHAV 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2020.08.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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41
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Gjerde LC, Eilertsen EM, Hannigan LJ, Eley T, Røysamb E, Reichborn-Kjennerud T, Rijsdijk FV, McAdams TA, Ystrom E. Associations between maternal depressive symptoms and risk for offspring early-life psychopathology: the role of genetic and non-genetic mechanisms. Psychol Med 2021; 51:441-449. [PMID: 31813389 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291719003301] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Although maternal depressive symptoms are robustly associated with offspring early-life psychopathology symptoms, it is not clear which potential mechanisms are at play. We aimed to estimate the relative importance of genetic transmission and direct environmental exposure in these associations on three occasions in early childhood. METHODS Biometric modeling of maternal sisters and their offspring from the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study. The analyzed sample comprised 22 316 mothers and 35 589 offspring. Mothers reported their own depressive symptoms using the Symptom checklist, and offspring's concurrent symptoms of psychopathology using the Child Behavior Checklist at 1.5, 3, and 5 years postpartum. RESULTS Associations between maternal symptoms of depression and offspring emotional problems were predominantly explained by passive genetic transmission at 1.5 and 3 years postpartum. At age 5, associations were more due to direct environmental exposure. For offspring behavioral problems, there was no net increase in the importance of direct environmental exposure across occasions. CONCLUSIONS Associations between maternal depressive symptoms and offspring psychopathology symptoms remained after accounting for shared genes, consistent with a small, causal effect. For offspring emotional problems, this effect appeared to increase in importance over time. Our findings imply that treatment of maternal depressive symptoms could also benefit the offspring, and that genetic confounding should be considered in future studies of such mother-offspring associations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Line C Gjerde
- Department of Mental Disorders, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
- PROMENTA Research Center, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Espen M Eilertsen
- Department of Mental Disorders, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
| | | | - Thalia Eley
- Social, Genetic & Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Espen Røysamb
- PROMENTA Research Center, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- Department of Child Development, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
| | - Ted Reichborn-Kjennerud
- Department of Mental Disorders, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
- Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Fruhling V Rijsdijk
- Social, Genetic & Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Tom A McAdams
- Social, Genetic & Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Eivind Ystrom
- Department of Mental Disorders, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
- PROMENTA Research Center, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- School of Pharmacy, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
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Tubbs JD, Hwang LD, Luong J, Evans DM, Sham PC. Modeling Parent-Specific Genetic Nurture in Families with Missing Parental Genotypes: Application to Birthweight and BMI. Behav Genet 2021; 51:289-300. [PMID: 33454873 DOI: 10.1007/s10519-020-10040-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2020] [Revised: 11/15/2020] [Accepted: 12/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Disaggregation and estimation of genetic effects from offspring and parents has long been of interest to statistical geneticists. Recently, technical and methodological advances have made the genome-wide and loci-specific estimation of direct offspring and parental genetic nurture effects more possible. However, unbiased estimation using these methods requires datasets where both parents and at least one child have been genotyped, which are relatively scarce. Our group has recently developed a method and accompanying software (IMPISH; Hwang et al. in PLoS Genet 16:e1009154, 2020) which is able to impute missing parental genotypes from observed data on sibships and estimate their effects on an offspring phenotype conditional on the effects of genetic transmission. However, this method is unable to disentangle maternal and paternal effects, which may differ in magnitude and direction. Here, we introduce an extension to the original IMPISH routine which takes advantage of all available nuclear families to impute parent-specific missing genotypes and obtain asymptotically unbiased estimates of genetic effects on offspring phenotypes. We apply this this method to data from related individuals in the UK Biobank, showing concordance with previous estimates of maternal genetic effects on offspring birthweight. We also conduct the first GWAS jointly estimating offspring-, maternal-, and paternal-specific genetic effects on body-mass index.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justin D Tubbs
- Department of Psychiatry, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Liang-Dar Hwang
- University of Queensland Diamantina Institute, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Justin Luong
- University of Queensland Diamantina Institute, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
| | - David M Evans
- University of Queensland Diamantina Institute, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.,Medical Research Council Integrative Epidemiology Unit, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Pak C Sham
- Department of Psychiatry, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China. .,Centre for PanorOmic Sciences, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China. .,State Key Laboratory for Cognitive and Brain Sciences, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China. .,The University of Hong Kong, 1/F, Jockey Club Building for Interdisciplinary Research, 5 Sassoon Road, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China.
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Hart SA, Little C, van Bergen E. Nurture might be nature: cautionary tales and proposed solutions. NPJ SCIENCE OF LEARNING 2021; 6:2. [PMID: 33420086 PMCID: PMC7794571 DOI: 10.1038/s41539-020-00079-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2019] [Accepted: 11/12/2020] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
Across a wide range of studies, researchers often conclude that the home environment and children's outcomes are causally linked. In contrast, behavioral genetic studies show that parents influence their children by providing them with both environment and genes, meaning the environment that parents provide should not be considered in the absence of genetic influences, because that can lead to erroneous conclusions on causation. This article seeks to provide behavioral scientists with a synopsis of numerous methods to estimate the direct effect of the environment, controlling for the potential of genetic confounding. Ideally, using genetically sensitive designs can fully disentangle this genetic confound, but these require specialized samples. In the near future, researchers will likely have access to measured DNA variants (summarized in a polygenic scores), which could serve as a partial genetic control, but that is currently not an option that is ideal or widely available. We also propose a work around for when genetically sensitive data are not readily available: the Familial Control Method. In this method, one measures the same trait in the parents as the child, and the parents' trait is then used as a covariate (e.g., a genetic proxy). When these options are all not possible, we plead with our colleagues to clearly mention genetic confound as a limitation, and to be cautious with any environmental causal statements which could lead to unnecessary parent blaming.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara A Hart
- Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA.
- Florida Center for Reading Research, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA.
| | - Callie Little
- Florida Center for Reading Research, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of New England, Armidale, NSW, Australia
| | - Elsje van Bergen
- Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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Direct and Indirect Effects of Maternal, Paternal, and Offspring Genotypes: Trio-GCTA. Behav Genet 2021; 51:154-161. [PMID: 33387132 DOI: 10.1007/s10519-020-10036-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2020] [Accepted: 12/07/2020] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Indirect genetic effects from relatives may result in misleading quantifications of heritability, but can also be of interest in their own right. In this paper we propose Trio-GCTA, a model for separating direct and indirect genetic effects when genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism data have been collected from parent-offspring trios. The model is applicable to phenotypes obtained from any of the family members. We discuss appropriate parameter interpretations and apply the method to three exemplar phenotypes: offspring birth weight, maternal relationship satisfaction, and paternal body-mass index, using real data from the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study (MoBa).
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45
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Polygenic Risk for Major Depression Interacts with Parental Criticism in Predicting Adolescent Depressive Symptom Development. J Youth Adolesc 2020; 50:159-176. [PMID: 33230654 PMCID: PMC7815554 DOI: 10.1007/s10964-020-01353-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2020] [Accepted: 11/02/2020] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Research has focused more and more on the interplay between genetics and environment in predicting different forms of psychopathology, including depressive symptoms. While the polygenic nature of depressive symptoms is increasingly recognized, only few studies have applied a polygenic approach in gene-by-environment interaction (G × E) studies. Furthermore, longitudinal G × E studies on developmental psychopathological properties of depression are scarce. Therefore, this 6-year longitudinal community study examined the interaction between genetic risk for major depression and a multi-informant longitudinal index of critical parenting in relation to depressive symptom development from early to late adolescence. The sample consisted of 327 Dutch adolescents of European descent (56% boys; Mage T1 = 13.00, SDage T1 = 0.44). Polygenic risk for major depression was based on the Hyde et al. (Nature Genetics, 48, 1031–1036, 2016) meta-analysis and genetic sensitivity analyses were based on the 23andMe discovery dataset. Latent Growth Models suggested that polygenic risk score for major depression was associated with higher depressive symptoms across adolescence (significant main effect), particularly for those experiencing elevated levels of critical parenting (significant G × E). These findings highlight how polygenic risk for major depression in combination with a general environmental factor impacts depressive symptom development from early to late adolescence.
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Branje S, Geeraerts S, de Zeeuw EL, Oerlemans AM, Koopman-Verhoeff ME, Schulz S, Nelemans S, Meeus W, Hartman CA, Hillegers MHJ, Oldehinkel AJ, Boomsma DI. Intergenerational transmission: Theoretical and methodological issues and an introduction to four Dutch cohorts. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2020; 45:100835. [PMID: 32823179 PMCID: PMC7451818 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2020.100835] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2020] [Revised: 06/27/2020] [Accepted: 08/04/2020] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Behaviors, traits and characteristics are transmitted from parents to offspring because of complex genetic and non-genetic processes. We review genetic and non-genetic mechanisms of intergenerational transmission of psychopathology and parenting and focus on recent methodological advances in disentangling genetic and non-genetic factors. In light of this review, we propose that future studies on intergenerational transmission should aim to disentangle genetic and non-genetic transmission, take a long-term longitudinal perspective, and focus on paternal and maternal intergenerational transmission. We present four large longitudinal cohort studies within the Consortium on Individual Development, which together address many of these methodological challenges. These four cohort studies aim to examine the extent to which genetic and non-genetic transmission from the parental generation shapes parenting behavior and psychopathology in the next generation, as well as the extent to which self-regulation and social competence mediate this transmission. Conjointly, these four cohorts provide a comprehensive approach to the study of intergenerational transmission.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susan Branje
- Youth and Family, Department of Educational and Pedagogical Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
| | - Sanne Geeraerts
- Youth and Family, Department of Educational and Pedagogical Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Eveline L de Zeeuw
- Netherlands Twin Register, Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Anoek M Oerlemans
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Groningen, University Medical Centre Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - M Elisabeth Koopman-Verhoeff
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychology, Erasmus MC University Medical Center Rotterdam-Sophia Children's Hospital, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; The Generation R Study Group, Erasmus MC University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Susanne Schulz
- Youth and Family, Department of Educational and Pedagogical Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Stefanie Nelemans
- Youth and Family, Department of Educational and Pedagogical Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Wim Meeus
- Youth and Family, Department of Educational and Pedagogical Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Catharina A Hartman
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Groningen, University Medical Centre Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Manon H J Hillegers
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychology, Erasmus MC University Medical Center Rotterdam-Sophia Children's Hospital, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; The Generation R Study Group, Erasmus MC University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Albertine J Oldehinkel
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Groningen, University Medical Centre Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Dorret I Boomsma
- Netherlands Twin Register, Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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48
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de Zeeuw EL, Hottenga JJ, Ouwens KG, Dolan CV, Ehli EA, Davies GE, Boomsma DI, van Bergen E. Intergenerational Transmission of Education and ADHD: Effects of Parental Genotypes. Behav Genet 2020; 50:221-232. [PMID: 32026073 PMCID: PMC7355279 DOI: 10.1007/s10519-020-09992-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2019] [Accepted: 01/08/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
It remains a challenge to determine whether children resemble their parents due to nature, nurture, or a mixture of both. Here we used a design that exploits the distinction between transmitted and non-transmitted alleles in genetic transmission from parent to offspring. Two separate polygenic scores (PGS) were calculated on the basis of the transmitted and non-transmitted alleles. The effect of the non-transmitted PGS is necessarily mediated by parental phenotypes, insofar as they contribute to the rearing environment of the offspring (genetic nurturing). We calculated transmitted and non-transmitted PGSs associated with adult educational attainment (EA) and PGSs associated with childhood ADHD in a general population sample of trios, i.e. child or adult offspring and their parents (N = 1120-2518). We tested if the EA and ADHD (non-)transmitted PGSs were associated with childhood academic achievement and ADHD in offspring. Based on the earlier findings for shared environment, we hypothesized to find genetic nurturing for academic achievement, but not for ADHD. In adults, both transmitted (R2 = 7.6%) and non-transmitted (R2 = 1.7%) EA PGSs were associated with offspring EA, evidencing genetic nurturing. In children around age 12, academic achievement was associated with the transmitted EA PGSs (R2 = 5.7%), but we found no support for genetic nurturing (R2 ~ 0.1%). The ADHD PGSs were not significantly associated with academic achievement (R2 ~ 0.6%). ADHD symptoms in children were only associated with transmitted EA PGSs and ADHD PGSs (R2 = 1-2%). Based on these results, we conclude that the associations between parent characteristics and offspring outcomes in childhood are mainly to be attributable to the effects of genes that are shared by parents and children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eveline L de Zeeuw
- Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit, Van der Boechorststraat 7-9, 1081 BT, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
- Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, VUmc, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
| | - Jouke-Jan Hottenga
- Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit, Van der Boechorststraat 7-9, 1081 BT, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Klaasjan G Ouwens
- Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit, Van der Boechorststraat 7-9, 1081 BT, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Conor V Dolan
- Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit, Van der Boechorststraat 7-9, 1081 BT, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Erik A Ehli
- Avera Institute for Human Genetics, Avera McKennan Hospital & University Health Center, Sioux Falls, SD, USA
| | - Gareth E Davies
- Avera Institute for Human Genetics, Avera McKennan Hospital & University Health Center, Sioux Falls, SD, USA
| | - Dorret I Boomsma
- Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit, Van der Boechorststraat 7-9, 1081 BT, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, VUmc, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Elsje van Bergen
- Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit, Van der Boechorststraat 7-9, 1081 BT, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, VUmc, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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49
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Jami ES, Eilertsen EM, Hammerschlag AR, Qiao Z, Evans DM, Ystrøm E, Bartels M, Middeldorp CM. Maternal and paternal effects on offspring internalizing problems: Results from genetic and family-based analyses. Am J Med Genet B Neuropsychiatr Genet 2020; 183:258-267. [PMID: 32356930 PMCID: PMC7317352 DOI: 10.1002/ajmg.b.32784] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2019] [Revised: 02/14/2020] [Accepted: 03/24/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
It is unclear to what extent parental influences on the development of internalizing problems in offspring are explained by indirect genetic effects, reflected in the environment provided by the parent, in addition to the genes transmitted from parent to child. In this study, these effects were investigated using two innovative methods in a large birth cohort. Using maternal-effects genome complex trait analysis (M-GCTA), the effects of offspring genotype, maternal or paternal genotypes, and their covariance on offspring internalizing problems were estimated in 3,801 mother-father-child genotyped trios. Next, estimated genetic correlations within pedigree data, including 10,688 children, were used to estimate additive genetic effects, maternal and paternal genetic effects, and a shared family effect using linear mixed effects modeling. There were no significant maternal or paternal genetic effects on offspring anxiety or depressive symptoms at age 8, beyond the effects transmitted via the genetic pathway between parents and children. However, indirect maternal genetic effects explained a small, but nonsignificant, proportion of variance in childhood depressive symptoms in both the M-GCTA (~4%) and pedigree (~8%) analyses. Our results suggest that parental effects on offspring internalizing problems are predominantly due to transmitted genetic variants, rather than the indirect effect of parental genes via the environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eshim S. Jami
- Department of Biological PsychologyVrije Universiteit AmsterdamAmsterdamThe Netherlands,Amsterdam Public Health Research InstituteAmsterdamThe Netherlands
| | | | - Anke R. Hammerschlag
- Department of Biological PsychologyVrije Universiteit AmsterdamAmsterdamThe Netherlands,Amsterdam Public Health Research InstituteAmsterdamThe Netherlands,Child Health Research CentreUniversity of QueenslandBrisbaneAustralia
| | - Zhen Qiao
- The University of Queensland Diamantina InstituteThe University of QueenslandBrisbaneAustralia
| | - David M. Evans
- The University of Queensland Diamantina InstituteThe University of QueenslandBrisbaneAustralia,Medical Research Council Integrative Epidemiology Unit at the University of BristolBristolUK,Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical SchoolUniversity of BristolBristolUK
| | - Eivind Ystrøm
- Department of Mental DisordersNorwegian Institute of Public HealthOsloNorway,PROMENTA Research Center, Department of PsychologyUniversity of OsloOsloNorway,School of PharmacyUniversity of OsloOsloNorway
| | - Meike Bartels
- Department of Biological PsychologyVrije Universiteit AmsterdamAmsterdamThe Netherlands,Amsterdam Public Health Research InstituteAmsterdamThe Netherlands
| | - Christel M. Middeldorp
- Department of Biological PsychologyVrije Universiteit AmsterdamAmsterdamThe Netherlands,Child Health Research CentreUniversity of QueenslandBrisbaneAustralia,Child and Youth Mental Health ServiceChildren's Health Queensland Hospital and Health ServiceBrisbaneAustralia
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50
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O'Reilly LM, Kuja-Halkola R, Rickert ME, Class QA, Larsson H, Lichtenstein P, D'Onofrio BM. The intergenerational transmission of suicidal behavior: an offspring of siblings study. Transl Psychiatry 2020; 10:173. [PMID: 32474571 PMCID: PMC7261287 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-020-0850-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2019] [Revised: 04/21/2020] [Accepted: 05/01/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
We examined the extent to which genetic factors shared across generations, measured covariates, and environmental factors associated with parental suicidal behavior (suicide attempt or suicide) account for the association between parental and offspring suicidal behavior. We used a Swedish cohort of 2,762,883 offspring born 1973-2001. We conducted two sets of analyses with offspring of half- and full-siblings: (1) quantitative behavior genetic models analyzing maternal suicidal behavior and (2) fixed-effects Cox proportional hazard models analyzing maternal and paternal suicidal behavior. The analyses also adjusted for numerous measured covariates (e.g., parental severe mental illness). Quantitative behavior genetic analyses found that 29.2% (95% confidence interval [CI], 5.29, 53.12%) of the intergenerational association was due to environmental factors associated with exposure to maternal suicidal behavior, with the remainder due to genetic factors. Statistical adjustment for parental behavioral health problems partially attenuated the environmental association; however, the results were no longer statistically significant. Cox hazard models similarly found that offspring were at a 2.74-fold increased risk [95% CI, 2.67, 2.83]) of suicidal behavior if their mothers attempted/died by suicide. After adjustment for familial factors and measured covariates, associations attenuated but remained elevated for offspring of discordant half-siblings (HR, 1.57 [95% CI, 1.45, 1.71]) and full-siblings (HR, 1.62 [95% CI, 1.57, 1.67]). Cox hazard models demonstrated a similar pattern between paternal and offspring suicidal behavior. This study found that the intergenerational transmission of suicidal behavior is largely due to shared genetic factors, as well as factors associated with parental behavioral health problems and environmental factors associated with parental suicidal behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Henrik Larsson
- Karolinska Institutet, Solna, Sweden
- Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden
| | | | - Brian M D'Onofrio
- Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
- Karolinska Institutet, Solna, Sweden
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