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Huangfu Y, Palloni A, Beltrán-Sánchez H, McEniry MC. Gene-environment interactions and the case of body mass index and obesity: How much do they matter? PNAS NEXUS 2023; 2:pgad213. [PMID: 37441616 PMCID: PMC10335730 DOI: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgad213] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2023] [Revised: 06/07/2022] [Accepted: 06/13/2023] [Indexed: 07/15/2023]
Abstract
We investigate the demographic and population health implications of gene-environment interactions (GxE) in the case of body mass index (BMI) and obesity. We seek to answer two questions: (a) what is the first-order impact of GxE effects on BMI and probability of obesity, e.g. the direct causal effect of G in different E's? and (b) how large is the impact of GxE effects on second-order health outcomes associated with BMI and obesity, such as type 2 diabetes (T2D) and disability? In contrast to most of the literature that focuses on estimating GxE effects, we study the implications of GxE effects for population health outcomes that are downstream of a causal chain that includes the target phenotype (in this case BMI) as the initial cause. To limit the scope of the paper, we focus on environments defined by birth cohorts. However, extensions to other environments (education, socioeconomic status (SES), early conditions, and physical settings) are straightforward.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yiyue Huangfu
- Center for Demography and Health of Aging, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Alberto Palloni
- Center for Demography and Health of Aging, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
- Instituto de Economía, Geografía y Demografía (IEGD), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Madrid, Madrid 28006, Spain
| | - Hiram Beltrán-Sánchez
- Fielding School of Public Health and California Center for Population Research, UCLA, CA 90095, USA
| | - Mary C McEniry
- Center for Demography and Health of Aging, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
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Burt SA. The Genetic, Environmental, and Cultural Forces Influencing Youth Antisocial Behavior Are Tightly Intertwined. Annu Rev Clin Psychol 2022; 18:155-178. [PMID: 35534120 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-072220-015507] [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: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
The aggressive and rule-breaking behaviors that constitute youth antisocial behavior (ASB) are shaped by intertwined genetic, developmental, familial, spatial, temporal, cultural, interpersonal, and contextual influences operating across multiple levels of analysis. Genetic influences on ASB, for example, manifest in different ways during different developmental periods, and do so in part as a function of exposure to harsh parenting, delinquent peers, and disadvantaged neighborhoods. There is also clear evidence documenting societal effects, time-period effects, sex-assigned-at-birth effects, and cohort effects, all of which point to prominent (and possibly interconnected) cultural influences on ASB. In short, ASB is shaped by individuals' current and prior environmental experiences, genetic risks, and the time and place in which they live. This review seeks to illuminate already documented instances of interplay among the multilevel etiologic forces impinging on youth ASB, with the goal of facilitating additional research.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Alexandra Burt
- Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA;
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Burt SA, Clark DA, Pearson AL, Klump KL, Neiderhiser JM. Do neighborhood social processes moderate the etiology of youth conduct problems? Psychol Med 2020; 50:1519-1529. [PMID: 31258102 PMCID: PMC7370405 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291719001521] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [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] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Prior work has robustly suggested that social processes in the neighborhood (i.e. informal social control, social cohesion, norms) influence child conduct problems (CP) and related outcomes, but has yet to consider how these community-level influences interact with individual-level genetic risk for CP. The current study sought to do just this, evaluating neighborhood-level social processes as etiologic moderators of child CP for the first time. METHODS We made use of two nested samples of child and adolescent twins within the Michigan State University Twin Registry (MSUTR): 5649 families who participated in in the Michigan Twins Project (MTP) and 1013 families who participated in the Twin Study of Behavioral and Emotional Development (TBED-C). The neighborhood social processes of informal social control, social cohesion, and norms were assessed using neighborhood sampling techniques, in which residents of each twin family's neighborhood reported on the social processes in their neighborhood. Standard biometric GxE analyses evaluated the extent to which they moderated the etiology of CP. RESULTS The 'no moderation' model provided the best fit to the data in nearly all cases, arguing against neighborhood social processes as etiologic moderators of youth CP. CONCLUSIONS The neighborhood social processes evaluated here do not appear to exert their effects on child CP via etiologic moderation. The documented links between neighborhood social processes and child CP are thus likely to reflect a different etiologic process. Possibilities include environmental main effects of neighborhood social processes on child CP, or genotype-environment correlations.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Alexandra Burt
- Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lasing, MI, USA
| | | | - Amber L Pearson
- Department of Geography, Environment & Spatial Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
| | - Kelly L Klump
- Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lasing, MI, USA
| | - Jenae M Neiderhiser
- Department of Psychology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
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Children's DAT1 Polymorphism Moderates the Relationship Between Parents' Psychological Profiles, Children's DAT Methylation, and Their Emotional/Behavioral Functioning in a Normative Sample. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2019; 16:ijerph16142567. [PMID: 31323798 PMCID: PMC6678924 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph16142567] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2019] [Revised: 07/16/2019] [Accepted: 07/16/2019] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Parental psychopathological risk is considered as one of the most crucial features associated with epigenetic modifications in offspring, which in turn are thought to be related to their emotional/behavioral profiles. The dopamine active transporter (DAT) gene is suggested to play a significant role in affective/behavioral regulation. On the basis of the previous literature, we aimed at verifying whether children’s DAT1 polymorphisms moderated the relationship between parents’ psychological profiles, children’s emotional/behavioral functioning, and DAT1 methylation in a normative sample of 79 families with school-age children (Ntot = 237). Children’s biological samples were collected through buccal swabs, while Symptom Check-List-90 item Revised, Adult Self Report, and Child Behavior Check-List/6–18 was administered to assess parental and children’s psychological functioning. We found that higher maternal externalizing problems predicted the following: higher levels of children’s DAT1 methylation at M1, but only among children with 10/10 genotype; higher levels of methylation at M2 among children with 10/10 genotype; while lower levels for children with a 9-repeat allele. There was also a positive relationship between fathers’ externalizing problems and children’s externalizing problems, only for children with a 9-repeat allele. Our findings support emerging evidence of the complex interplay between genetic and environmental factors in shaping children’ emotional/behavioral functioning, contributing to the knowledge of risk variables for a child’s development and psychological well-being.
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Burt SA, Pearson AL, Rzotkiewicz A, Klump KL, Neiderhiser JM. It really does take a village: The role of neighbors in the etiology of nonaggressive rule-breaking behavior. Dev Psychopathol 2019; 31:713-725. [PMID: 30021669 PMCID: PMC6339614 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579418000366] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Although there is growing recognition that disadvantaged contexts attenuate genetic influences on youth misbehavior, it is not yet clear how this dampening occurs. The current study made use of a "geographic contagion" model to isolate specific contexts contributing to this effect, with a focus on nonaggressive rule-breaking behaviors (RB) in the families' neighbors. Our sample included 847 families residing in or near modestly-to-severely disadvantaged neighborhoods who participated in the Michigan State University Twin Registry. Neighborhood sampling techniques were used to recruit neighbors residing within 5km of a given family (the mean number of neighbors assessed per family was 13.09; range, 1-47). Analyses revealed clear evidence of genotype-environment interactions by neighbor RB, such that sibling-level shared environmental influences on child RB increased with increasing neighbor self-reports of their own RB, whereas genetic influences decreased. Moreover, this moderation appeared to be driven by geographic proximity to neighbors. Sensitivity analyses further indicated that this effect was specifically accounted for by higher levels of neighbor joblessness, rather than elements of neighbor RB that would contribute to neighborhood blight or crime. Such findings provocatively suggest that future genotype-environment interactions studies should integrate the dynamic networks of social contagion theory.
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Chen J, Yu J, Zhang J, Li X, McGue M. Investigating genetic and environmental contributions to adolescent externalizing behavior in a collectivistic culture: a multi-informant twin study. Psychol Med 2015; 45:1989-1997. [PMID: 25572795 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291714003109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Little is known about the etiology of adolescents' externalizing behavior (Ext) in collectivistic cultures. We aimed to fill this gap by investigating the genetic and environmental influences on Ext in Chinese adolescents. The etiological heterogeneity of aggression (AGG) and rule breaking (RB) was also examined. METHOD The study sample included 908 pairs of same-sex twins aged from 10 to 18 years (mean = 13.53 years, s.d. = 2.26). Adolescents' Ext were assessed with the Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment including Child Behavior Checklist, Teacher Report Form, and Youth Self-Report. RESULTS Univariate genetic analyses showed that genetic influences on all measures were moderate ranging from 34% to 50%, non-shared environmental effects ranged from 23% to 52%, and shared environmental effects were significant in parent- and teacher-reported measures ranging from 29% to 43%. Bivariate genetic analyses indicated that AGG and RB shared large genetic influences (r g = 0.64-0.79) but moderate non-shared environmental factors (r e = 0.34-0.52). CONCLUSIONS Chinese adolescents' Ext was moderately influenced by genetic factors. AGG and RB had moderate independent genetic and non-shared environmental influences, and thus constitute etiologically distinct dimensions within Ext in Chinese adolescents. The heritability of AGG, in particular, was smaller in Chinese adolescents than suggested by previous data obtained on Western peers. This study suggests that the collectivistic cultural values and Confucianism philosophy may attenuate genetic potential in Ext, especially AGG.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Chen
- Key Laboratory of Mental Health,Institute of Psychology,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing,China
| | - J Yu
- Department of Psychology,University of Maryland,Baltimore County,MD,USA
| | - J Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Mental Health,Institute of Psychology,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing,China
| | - X Li
- Key Laboratory of Mental Health,Institute of Psychology,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing,China
| | - M McGue
- Department of Psychology,University of Minnesota,Minneapolis,MN,USA
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Burt SA, Wildey MN, Klump KL. The quality of the interparental relationship does not moderate the etiology of child conduct problems. Psychol Med 2015; 45:319-332. [PMID: 25066424 PMCID: PMC4461551 DOI: 10.1017/s003329171400138x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [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 there is a clear phenotypic relationship between the quality of the interparental or marital relationship and child conduct problems (CP), the etiology of this association is as yet unclear. One possibility is that this association takes the form of a genotype-environment interaction (G × E), whereby the quality of the interparental relationship acts to moderate the etiology of child CP. The current study sought to evaluate this possibility. METHOD We examined multiple measures and informant reports of the quality of the interparental relationship in a sample of more than 700 child twin families from the Michigan State University Twin Registry (MSUTR). Analyses consisted of a series of latent G × E models. RESULTS The 'no moderation' model provided the best fit to the data in nearly all cases, findings that collectively provide strong evidence against the possibility that the etiology of CP is moderated by the quality of the interparental relationship. CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that, contrary to implicit (and sometimes explicit) assumptions in the field, it is not the case that every environmental risk (or protective) factor exacerbates (or suppresses) genetic influences on CP. Future research should seek to delineate the specific environmental experiences that do serve as etiologic moderators of CP, and to clarify how this G × E interplay might change over the course of development.
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Affiliation(s)
- S A Burt
- Department of Psychology,Michigan State University,East Lansing, MI,USA
| | - M N Wildey
- Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services, Grand Rapids, MI,USA
| | - K L Klump
- Department of Psychology,Michigan State University,East Lansing, MI,USA
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Nikolas MA, Klump KL, Burt SA. Parental involvement moderates etiological influences on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder behaviors in child twins. Child Dev 2014; 86:224-40. [PMID: 25263271 DOI: 10.1111/cdev.12296] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Although few would now contest the presence of Gene × Environment (G × E) effects in the development of child psychopathology, it remains unclear how these effects manifest themselves. Alternative G × E models have been proposed (i.e., diathesis-stress, differential susceptibility, bioecological), each of which has notably different implications for etiology. Child twin studies present a powerful tool for discriminating between these models. The current study examined whether and how parental involvement moderated etiological influences on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) within 500 twin pairs aged 6-11 years. Results indicated moderation of genetic and nonshared environmental contributions to ADHD by parental involvement, and moreover, suggested both differential susceptibility and bioecological models of G × E. Results highlight the utility of child twin samples in testing different manifestations of G × E effects.
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Burt SA, Klump KL. Parent-child conflict as an etiological moderator of childhood conduct problems: an example of a 'bioecological' gene-environment interaction. Psychol Med 2014; 44:1065-1076. [PMID: 23746066 PMCID: PMC5798251 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291713001190] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [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] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Prior research has suggested that, consistent with the diathesis-stress model of gene-environment interaction (G × E), parent-child conflict activates genetic influences on antisocial/externalizing behaviors during adolescence. It remains unclear, however, whether this model is also important during childhood, or whether the moderation of child conduct problems by negative/conflictive parenting is better characterized as a bioecological interaction, in which environmental influences are enhanced in the presence of environmental risk whereas genetic influences are expressed most strongly in their absence. The current study sought to distinguish between these possibilities, evaluating how the parent-child relationship moderates the etiology of childhood-onset conduct problems. METHOD We conducted a series of 'latent G by measured E' interaction analyses, in which a measured environmental variable was allowed to moderate both genetic and environmental influences on child conduct problems. Participants included 500 child twin pairs from the Michigan State University Twin Registry (MSUTR). RESULTS Shared environmental influences on conduct problems were found to be several-fold larger in those with high levels of parent-child conflict as compared with those with low levels. Genetic influences, by contrast, were proportionally more influential at lower levels of conflict than at higher levels. CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that, although the diathesis-stress form of G × E appears to underlie the relationship between parenting and conduct problems during adolescence, this pattern of moderation does not extend to childhood. Instead, results were more consistent with the bioecological form of G × E which postulates that, in some cases, genetic influences may be most fully manifested in the absence of environmental risk.
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Affiliation(s)
- S. A. Burt
- Address for correspondence: S. A. Burt, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, 107D Psychology Building, East Lansing, MI 48824 USA. ()
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Boardman JD, Daw J, Freese J. Defining the environment in gene-environment research: lessons from social epidemiology. Am J Public Health 2013; 103 Suppl 1:S64-72. [PMID: 23927514 PMCID: PMC3786759 DOI: 10.2105/ajph.2013.301355] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/16/2013] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
In this article, we make the case that social epidemiology provides a useful framework to define the environment within gene-environment (G × E) research. We describe the environment in a multilevel, multidomain, longitudinal framework that accounts for upstream processes influencing health outcomes. We then illustrate the utility of this approach by describing how intermediate levels of social organization, such as neighborhoods or schools, are key environmental components of G × E research. We discuss different models of G × E research and encourage public health researchers to consider the value of including genetic information from their study participants. We also encourage researchers interested in G × E interplay to consider the merits of the social epidemiology model when defining the environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason D Boardman
- Jason D. Boardman is with the Institute of Behavioral Science and the Department of Sociology, University of Colorado, Boulder. Jonathan Daw is with the Department of Sociology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, and with the Institute of Behavioral Science and the Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado Boulder. Jeremy Freese is with the Institute for Policy Research and Department of Sociology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL
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Samek D, Rueter M, Koh B. Overview of Behavioral Genetics Research for Family Researchers. JOURNAL OF FAMILY THEORY & REVIEW 2013; 5:214-233. [PMID: 24073018 PMCID: PMC3780434 DOI: 10.1111/jftr.12013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2012] [Accepted: 10/29/2012] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
This article provides an overview of the methods, assumptions, and key findings of behavioral genetics methodology for family researchers with a limited background. We discuss how family researchers can utilize and contribute to the behavioral genetics field, particularly in terms of conducting research that seeks to explain shared environmental effects. This can be done, in part, by theoretically controlling for genetic confounds in research that seeks to determine cause-and-effect relationships among family variables and individual outcomes. Gene-environment correlation and interaction are especially promising areas for the family researcher to address. Given the methodological advancements in the field, we also briefly comment on new methods in molecular genetics for studying psychological mental health disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diana Samek
- Department of Psychology, N218 Elliot Hall, 75 East River Road, Minneapolis, MN 55108 ()
| | - Martha Rueter
- Department of Family Social Science, 290 McNeal Hall, University of Minnesota, 1985 Buford Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55108 ()
| | - Bibiana Koh
- Department of Social Work, Augsburg College, 2211 Riverside Avenue, Minneapolis, MN 55454 ()
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Overton WF. Relational Developmental Systems and Quantitative Behavior Genetics: Alternative or Parallel Methodologies? RESEARCH IN HUMAN DEVELOPMENT 2011. [DOI: 10.1080/15427609.2011.634289] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
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Partridge T. Methodological Advances Toward a Dynamic Developmental Behavioral Genetics: Bridging the Gap. RESEARCH IN HUMAN DEVELOPMENT 2011. [DOI: 10.1080/15427609.2011.625705] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/15/2022]
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