1
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Reuben A, Richmond‐Rakerd LS, Milne B, Shah D, Pearson A, Hogan S, Ireland D, Keenan R, Knodt AR, Melzer T, Poulton R, Ramrakha S, Whitman ET, Hariri AR, Moffitt TE, Caspi A. Dementia, dementia's risk factors and premorbid brain structure are concentrated in disadvantaged areas: National register and birth-cohort geographic analyses. Alzheimers Dement 2024; 20:3167-3178. [PMID: 38482967 PMCID: PMC11095428 DOI: 10.1002/alz.13727] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2023] [Revised: 12/15/2023] [Accepted: 01/11/2024] [Indexed: 04/06/2024]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Dementia risk may be elevated in socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods. Reasons for this remain unclear, and this elevation has yet to be shown at a national population level. METHODS We tested whether dementia was more prevalent in disadvantaged neighborhoods across the New Zealand population (N = 1.41 million analytic sample) over a 20-year observation. We then tested whether premorbid dementia risk factors and MRI-measured brain-structure antecedents were more prevalent among midlife residents of disadvantaged neighborhoods in a population-representative NZ-birth-cohort (N = 938 analytic sample). RESULTS People residing in disadvantaged neighborhoods were at greater risk of dementia (HR per-quintile-disadvantage-increase = 1.09, 95% confidence interval [CI]:1.08-1.10) and, decades before clinical endpoints typically emerge, evidenced elevated dementia-risk scores (CAIDE, LIBRA, Lancet, ANU-ADRI, DunedinARB; β's 0.31-0.39) and displayed dementia-associated brain structural deficits and cognitive difficulties/decline. DISCUSSION Disadvantaged neighborhoods have more residents with dementia, and decades before dementia is diagnosed, residents have more dementia-risk factors and brain-structure antecedents. Whether or not neighborhoods causally influence risk, they may offer scalable opportunities for primary dementia prevention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aaron Reuben
- Department of Psychology and NeuroscienceDuke UniversityDurhamNorth CarolinaUSA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral SciencesMedical University of South CarolinaCharlestonSouth CarolinaUSA
| | | | - Barry Milne
- Centre for Methods and Policy Application in Society SciencesUniversity of AucklandAucklandNew Zealand
| | - Devesh Shah
- Department of Psychology and NeuroscienceDuke UniversityDurhamNorth CarolinaUSA
| | - Amber Pearson
- Department of Geography, Environment, and Spatial SciencesMichigan State UniversityEast LansingMichiganUSA
- Department of Public HealthUniversity of OtagoWellingtonNew Zealand
| | - Sean Hogan
- Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Research Unit, Department of PsychologyUniversity of OtagoDunedinNew Zealand
| | - David Ireland
- Brain Health Research Centre, Department of PsychologyUniversity of OtagoDunedinNew Zealand
| | - Ross Keenan
- Brain Health Research Centre, Department of PsychologyUniversity of OtagoDunedinNew Zealand
| | - Annchen R. Knodt
- Department of Psychology and NeuroscienceDuke UniversityDurhamNorth CarolinaUSA
| | - Tracy Melzer
- Department of MedicineUniversity of OtagoChristchurchNew Zealand
| | - Richie Poulton
- Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Research Unit, Department of PsychologyUniversity of OtagoDunedinNew Zealand
| | - Sandhya Ramrakha
- Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Research Unit, Department of PsychologyUniversity of OtagoDunedinNew Zealand
| | - Ethan T. Whitman
- Department of Psychology and NeuroscienceDuke UniversityDurhamNorth CarolinaUSA
| | - Ahmad R. Hariri
- Department of Psychology and NeuroscienceDuke UniversityDurhamNorth CarolinaUSA
| | - Terrie E. Moffitt
- Department of Psychology and NeuroscienceDuke UniversityDurhamNorth CarolinaUSA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral SciencesDuke UniversityDurhamNorth CarolinaUSA
- King's College London, Social, Genetic, and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, & NeuroscienceLondonUK
- PROMENTA, Department of PsychologyUniversity of OsloOsloNorway
| | - Avshalom Caspi
- Department of Psychology and NeuroscienceDuke UniversityDurhamNorth CarolinaUSA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral SciencesDuke UniversityDurhamNorth CarolinaUSA
- King's College London, Social, Genetic, and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, & NeuroscienceLondonUK
- PROMENTA, Department of PsychologyUniversity of OsloOsloNorway
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2
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Cheung RW, Austerberry C, Fearon P, Hayiou-Thomas ME, Leve LD, Shaw DS, Ganiban JM, Natsuaki MN, Neiderhieser JM, Reiss D. Disentangling genetic and environmental influences on early language development: The interplay of genetic propensity for negative emotionality and surgency, and parenting behavior effects on early language skills in an adoption study. Child Dev 2024; 95:699-720. [PMID: 37947162 PMCID: PMC11023813 DOI: 10.1111/cdev.14021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2023] [Revised: 07/22/2023] [Accepted: 09/11/2023] [Indexed: 11/12/2023]
Abstract
Parenting and children's temperament are important influences on language development. However, temperament may reflect prior parenting, and parenting effects may reflect genes common to parents and children. In 561 U.S. adoptees (57% male) and their birth and rearing parents (70% and 92% White, 13% and 4% African American, and 7% and 2% Latinx, respectively), this study demonstrated how genetic propensity for temperament affects language development, and how this relates to parenting. Genetic propensity for negative emotionality inversely predicted language at 27 months (β = -.15) and evoked greater maternal warmth (β = .12), whereas propensity for surgency positively predicted language at 4.5 years (β = .20), especially when warmth was low. Parental warmth (β = .15) and sensitivity (β = .19) further contributed to language development, controlling for common gene effects.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Chloe Austerberry
- Department of Psychology, Centre for Family Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Pasco Fearon
- Department of Psychology, Centre for Family Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, UCL, London, UK
| | | | - Leslie D Leve
- Prevention Science Institute, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, USA
| | - Daniel S Shaw
- Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburg, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Jody M Ganiban
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
| | - Misaki N Natsuaki
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside, California, USA
| | - Jenae M Neiderhieser
- Department of Psychology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - David Reiss
- Yale Child Study Center, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
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Nivard MG, Belsky DW, Harden KP, Baier T, Andreassen OA, Ystrøm E, van Bergen E, Lyngstad TH. More than nature and nurture, indirect genetic effects on children's academic achievement are consequences of dynastic social processes. Nat Hum Behav 2024:10.1038/s41562-023-01796-2. [PMID: 38225408 DOI: 10.1038/s41562-023-01796-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2022] [Accepted: 11/29/2023] [Indexed: 01/17/2024]
Abstract
Families transmit genes and environments across generations. When parents' genetics affect their children's environments, these two modes of inheritance can produce an 'indirect genetic effect'. Such indirect genetic effects may account for up to half of the estimated genetic variance in educational attainment. Here we tested if indirect genetic effects reflect within-nuclear-family transmission ('genetic nurture') or instead a multi-generational process of social stratification ('dynastic effects'). We analysed indirect genetic effects on children's academic achievement in their fifth to ninth years of schooling in N = 37,117 parent-offspring trios in the Norwegian Mother, Father, and Child Cohort Study (MoBa). We used pairs of genetically related families (parents were siblings, children were cousins; N = 10,913) to distinguish within-nuclear-family genetic-nurture effects from dynastic effects shared by cousins in different nuclear families. We found that indirect genetic effects on children's academic achievement cannot be explained by processes that operate exclusively within the nuclear family.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michel G Nivard
- Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Daniel W Belsky
- Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York, NY, USA
- Robert N. Butler Columbia Aging Center, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - K Paige Harden
- Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
- Population Research Center, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Tina Baier
- Department of Sociology and Human Geography, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Ole A Andreassen
- NORMENT Centre, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Eivind Ystrøm
- PROMENTA Research Center, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- Department of Mental Disorders, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
| | - Elsje van Bergen
- Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Research Institute LEARN!, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Torkild H Lyngstad
- Department of Sociology and Human Geography, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
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Wang HH, Moon SY, Kim H, Kim G, Ahn WY, Joo YY, Cha J. Early life stress modulates the genetic influence on brain structure and cognitive function in children. Heliyon 2024; 10:e23345. [PMID: 38187352 PMCID: PMC10770463 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e23345] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2022] [Revised: 10/03/2023] [Accepted: 12/01/2023] [Indexed: 01/09/2024] Open
Abstract
The enduring influence of early life stress (ELS) on brain and cognitive development has been widely acknowledged, yet the precise mechanisms underlying this association remain elusive. We hypothesize that ELS might disrupt the genome-wide influence on brain morphology and connectivity development, consequently exerting a detrimental impact on children's cognitive ability. We analyzed the multimodal data of DNA genotypes, brain imaging (structural and diffusion MRI), and neurocognitive battery (NIH Toolbox) of 4276 children (ages 9-10 years, European ancestry) from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study. The genome-wide influence on cognitive function was estimated using the polygenic score (GPS). By using brain morphometry and tractography, we identified the brain correlates of the cognition GPSs. Statistical analyses revealed relationships for the gene-brain-cognition pathway. The brain structural variance significantly mediated the genetic influence on cognition (indirect effect = 0.016, PFDR < 0.001). Of note, this gene-brain relationship was significantly modulated by abuse, resulting in diminished cognitive capacity (Index of Moderated Mediation = -0.007; 95 % CI = -0.012 ∼ -0.002). Our results support a novel gene-brain-cognition model likely elucidating the long-lasting negative impact of ELS on children's cognitive development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hee-Hwan Wang
- Department of Brain Cognitive and Science, Seoul National University, Seoul, 08825, South Korea
| | - Seo-Yoon Moon
- College of Liberal Studies, Seoul National University, Seoul, 08825, South Korea
| | - Hyeonjin Kim
- Department of Psychology, Seoul National University, Seoul, 08825, South Korea
| | - Gakyung Kim
- Department of Brain Cognitive and Science, Seoul National University, Seoul, 08825, South Korea
| | - Woo-Young Ahn
- Department of Psychology, Seoul National University, Seoul, 08825, South Korea
| | - Yoonjung Yoonie Joo
- Department of Psychology, Seoul National University, Seoul, 08825, South Korea
- Department of Digital Health, Samsung Advanced Institute for Health Sciences & Technology (SAIHST), Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul, 06355, South Korea
- Research Center for Future Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Seoul, 06335, South Korea
| | - Jiook Cha
- Department of Brain Cognitive and Science, Seoul National University, Seoul, 08825, South Korea
- Department of Psychology, Seoul National University, Seoul, 08825, South Korea
- AI Institute, Seoul National University, Seoul, 08825, South Korea
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5
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Ericsson M, Finch B, Karlsson IK, Gatz M, Reynolds CA, Pedersen NL, Mosing MA. Educational Influences on Late-Life Health: Genetic Propensity and Attained Education. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci 2024; 79:gbad153. [PMID: 37862467 PMCID: PMC10745256 DOI: 10.1093/geronb/gbad153] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2023] [Indexed: 10/22/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES The educational gradient in late-life health is well established. Despite this, there are still ambiguities concerning the role of underlying confounding by genetic influences and gene-environment (GE) interplay. Here, we investigate the role of educational factors (attained and genetic propensities) on health and mortality in late life using genetic propensity for educational attainment (as measured by a genome-wide polygenic score, PGSEdu) and attained education. METHODS By utilizing genetically informative twin data from the Swedish Twin Registry (n = 14,570), we investigated influences of the educational measures, familial confounding as well as the possible presence of passive GE correlation on both objective and subjective indicators of late-life health, that is, the Frailty Index, Multimorbidity, Self-rated health, cardiovascular disease, and all-cause mortality. RESULTS Using between-within models to adjust for shared familial factors, we found that the relationship between educational level and health and mortality later in life persisted despite controlling for familial confounding. PGSEdu and attained education both uniquely predicted late-life health and mortality, even when mutually adjusted. Between-within models of PGSEdu on the health outcomes in dizygotic twins showed weak evidence for passive GE correlation (prGE) in the education-health relationship. DISCUSSION Both genetic propensity to education and attained education are (partly) independently associated with health in late life. These results lend further support for a causal education-health relationship but also raise the importance of genetic contributions and GE interplay.
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Affiliation(s)
- Malin Ericsson
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Aging Research Center, Karolinska Institutet & Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Brian Finch
- Center for Social and Economic Research, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Ida K Karlsson
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Margaret Gatz
- Center for Social and Economic Research, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Chandra A Reynolds
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, California, USA
| | - Nancy L Pedersen
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Miriam A Mosing
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Cognitive Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics, Frankurt, Germany
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6
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Lebenbaum M, Gagnon F, de Oliveira C, Laporte A. Genetic endowments for social capital: An investigation accounting for genetic nurturing effects. Econ Hum Biol 2024; 52:101316. [PMID: 38056316 DOI: 10.1016/j.ehb.2023.101316] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2023] [Revised: 11/02/2023] [Accepted: 11/11/2023] [Indexed: 12/08/2023]
Abstract
Despite social capital having been shown to be important for health and well-being, relatively little research has examined genetic determinants. Genetic endowments for education have been shown to influence human, financial, and health capital, but few studies have examined social capital, and those conducted have yet to account for genetic nurturing. We used the Add-Health data to study the effect of genetic endowments on individual social capital using the education polygenic score (PGS). We used sibling fixed effects models and controlled for the family environment to account for genetic nurturing. After accounting for the family environment, we found moderately large significant associations between the education PGS and volunteering, but associations with religious service attendance and number of friends were completely attenuated in sibling fixed effects models. These findings highlight that genetic endowments play an important role in influencing volunteering and the importance of accounting for genetic nurturing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Lebenbaum
- Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (IHPME), University of Toronto, 155 College St 4th Floor, Toronto, ON M5T 3M6, Canada; Canadian Centre for Health Economics, 155 College St 4th Floor, Toronto, ON M5T 3M6, Canada.
| | - France Gagnon
- The Dalla Lana School of Public Health (DLSPH), University of Toronto, 155 College St Room 500, Toronto, ON M5T 3M7, Canada
| | - Claire de Oliveira
- Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (IHPME), University of Toronto, 155 College St 4th Floor, Toronto, ON M5T 3M6, Canada; Canadian Centre for Health Economics, 155 College St 4th Floor, Toronto, ON M5T 3M6, Canada; Centre for Health Economics and the Hull York Medical School, University of York, Heslington, York YO10 5DD, United Kingdom
| | - Audrey Laporte
- Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (IHPME), University of Toronto, 155 College St 4th Floor, Toronto, ON M5T 3M6, Canada; Canadian Centre for Health Economics, 155 College St 4th Floor, Toronto, ON M5T 3M6, Canada
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7
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Furuya S, Liu J, Sun Z, Lu Q, Fletcher JM. The Big (Genetic) Sort? A Research Note on Migration Patterns and Their Genetic Imprint in the United Kingdom. Demography 2023; 60:1649-1664. [PMID: 37942709 DOI: 10.1215/00703370-11054960] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2023]
Abstract
This research note reinvestigates Abdellaoui et al.'s (2019) findings that genetically selective migration may lead to persistent and accumulating socioeconomic and health inequalities between types (coal mining or non-coal mining) of places in the United Kingdom. Their migration measure classified migrants who moved to the same type of place (coal mining to coal mining or non-coal mining to non-coal mining) into "stay" categories, preventing them from distinguishing migrants from nonmigrants. We reinvestigate the question of genetically selective migration by examining migration patterns between places rather than place types and find genetic selectivity in whether people migrate and where. For example, we find evidence of positive selection: people with genetic variants correlated with better education moved from non-coal mining to coal mining places with our measure of migration. Such findings were obscured in earlier work that could not distinguish nonmigrants from migrants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shiro Furuya
- Department of Sociology, Center for Demography of Health and Aging, and Center for Demography and Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Jihua Liu
- Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Informatics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Zhongxuan Sun
- Department of Biostatistics and Medical Informatics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Qiongshi Lu
- Center for Demography of Health and Aging, Department of Biostatistics and Medical Informatics, and Department of Statistics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Jason M Fletcher
- Center for Demography of Health and Aging, Center for Demography and Ecology, La Follette School of Public Affairs, Department of Population Health Science, and Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
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8
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Furuya S, Liu J, Sun Z, Lu Q, Fletcher JM. Understanding Internal Migration: A Research Note Providing an Assessment of Migration Selection With Genetic Data. Demography 2023; 60:1631-1648. [PMID: 37937916 DOI: 10.1215/00703370-11053145] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2023]
Abstract
Migration is selective, resulting in inequalities between migrants and nonmigrants. However, investigating migration selection is empirically challenging because combined pre- and post-migration data are rarely available. We propose an alternative approach to assessing internal migration selection by integrating genetic data, enabling an investigation of migration selection with cross-sectional data collected post-migration. Using data from the UK Biobank, we utilized standard tools from statistical genetics to conduct a genome-wide association study (GWAS) for migration distance. We then calculated genetic correlations to compare GWAS results for migration with those for other characteristics. Given that individual genetics are determined at conception, these analyses allow a unique exploration of the association between pre-migration characteristics and migration. Results are generally consistent with the healthy migrant literature: genetics correlated with longer migration distance are associated with higher socioeconomic status and better health. We also extended the analysis to 53 traits and found novel correlations between migration and several physical health, mental health, personality, and sociodemographic traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shiro Furuya
- Department of Sociology, Center for Demography of Health and Aging, and Center for Demography and Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Jihua Liu
- Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Informatics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Zhongxuan Sun
- Department of Biostatistics and Medical Informatics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Qiongshi Lu
- Center for Demography of Health and Aging, Department of Biostatistics and Medical Informatics, and Department of Statistics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Jason M Fletcher
- Center for Demography of Health and Aging, Center for Demography and Ecology, La Follette School of Public Affairs, Department of Population Health Science, and Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
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9
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Malanchini M, Allegrini AG, Nivard MG, Biroli P, Rimfeld K, Cheesman R, von Stumm S, Demange PA, van Bergen E, Grotzinger AD, Raffington L, De la Fuente J, Pingault JB, Harden KP, Tucker-Drob EM, Plomin R. Genetic contributions of noncognitive skills to academic development. bioRxiv 2023:2023.04.03.535380. [PMID: 37066409 PMCID: PMC10103958 DOI: 10.1101/2023.04.03.535380] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/18/2023]
Abstract
Noncognitive skills such as motivation and self-regulation, are partly heritable and predict academic achievement beyond cognitive skills. However, how the relationship between noncognitive skills and academic achievement changes over development is unclear. The current study examined how cognitive and noncognitive skills contribute to academic achievement from ages 7 to 16 in a sample of over 10,000 children from England and Wales. Noncognitive skills were increasingly predictive of academic achievement across development. Twin and polygenic scores analyses found that the contribution of noncognitive genetics to academic achievement became stronger over the school years. Results from within-family analyses indicated that associations with noncognitive genetics could not simply be attributed to confounding by environmental differences between nuclear families and are consistent with a possible role for evocative/active gene-environment correlations. By studying genetic effects through a developmental lens, we provide novel insights into the role of noncognitive skills in academic development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Margherita Malanchini
- School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, United Kingdom
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, King’s College London, United Kingdom
| | - Andrea G. Allegrini
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, King’s College London, United Kingdom
- Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, United Kingdom
| | - Michel G. Nivard
- Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Pietro Biroli
- Department of Economics, Universita’ di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Kaili Rimfeld
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, King’s College London, United Kingdom
- Royal Holloway University of London, United Kingdom
| | - Rosa Cheesman
- PROMENTA Research Center, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | | | - Perline A. Demange
- Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Research Institute LEARN!, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Mental Health, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - 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, Mental Health, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Andrew D. Grotzinger
- Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado Boulder, United States
| | - Laurel Raffington
- Max Planck Research Group Biosocial – Biology, Social Disparities, and Development; Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany
| | | | - Jean-Baptiste Pingault
- Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, United Kingdom
| | - K. Paige Harden
- Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at Austin, United States
| | | | - Robert Plomin
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, King’s College London, United Kingdom
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10
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Lynch KE, Brown RL, Strasser J, Yeo SL. A disanalogy with RCTs and its implications for second-generation causal knowledge. Behav Brain Sci 2023; 46:e194. [PMID: 37694935 DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x22002242] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/12/2023]
Abstract
We are less optimistic than Madole & Harden that family-based genome-wide association studies (GWASs) will lead to significant second-generation causal knowledge. Despite bearing some similarities, family-based GWASs and randomised controlled trials (RCTs) are not identical. Most RCTs assess a relatively homogenous causal stimulus as a treatment, whereas GWASs assess highly heterogeneous causal stimuli. Thus, GWAS results will not translate so easily into second-generation causal knowledge.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kate E Lynch
- Department of Philosophy, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia www.katelynch.net
- Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
| | - Rachael L Brown
- Centre for Philosophy of the Sciences, School of Philosophy, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia ://rachaelbrown.net
| | - Jeremy Strasser
- School of Philosophy, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
| | - Shang Long Yeo
- Department of Philosophy, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore ://shang.isaphilosopher.com
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11
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Fletcher J. Decoupling genetics from attainments: The role of social environments. Econ Hum Biol 2023; 50:101259. [PMID: 37220672 PMCID: PMC10524755 DOI: 10.1016/j.ehb.2023.101259] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2023] [Revised: 03/15/2023] [Accepted: 05/15/2023] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
This paper examines the extent to which growing up in a socially mobile environment might decouple genetic endowments related to educational attainment with actual attainments. Many models of intergenerational transmission of advantage contain both a transmission channel through endowments (i.e. genetics) from parents to children as well as from parental investments and "luck". Indeed, many scholars consider the intergenerational links due to the transmission of genetically-based advantage to place a lower bound on plausible levels of social mobility-genetics may be able to "lock in" advantage across generations. This paper explores this idea by using genetic measurements in the Health and Retirement Study to examine potential interactions between social environments and genetics related to attainments. The results suggest evidence of gene environment interactions: children born in high mobility states have lower genetic penetrance-the interaction between state-level mobility and the polygenic score for education is negative. These results suggest a need to incorporate gene-environment interactions in models of attainment and mobility and to pursue the mechanisms behind the interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason Fletcher
- La Follette School of Public Affairs, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1180 Observatory Drive, Madison, WI 53706, USA.
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12
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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: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [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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13
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Giannelis A, Willoughby EA, Corley R, Hopfer C, Hewitt JK, Iacono WG, Anderson J, Rustichini A, Vrieze SI, McGue M, Lee JJ. The association between saving disposition and financial distress: A genetically informed approach. J Econ Psychol 2023; 96:102610. [PMID: 37092036 PMCID: PMC10118204 DOI: 10.1016/j.joep.2023.102610] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Saving disposition, the tendency to save rather than consume, has been found to be associated with economic outcomes. People lacking the disposition to save are more likely to experience financial distress. This association could be driven by other economic factors, behavioral traits, or even genetic effects. Using a sample of 3,920 American twins, we develop scales to measure saving disposition and financial distress. We find genetic influences on both traits, but also a large effect of the rearing family environment on saving disposition. We estimate that 44% of the covariance between the two traits is due to genetic effects. Saving disposition remains strongly associated with lower financial distress, even after controlling for family income, cognitive ability, and personality traits. The association persists within families and monozygotic twin pairs; the twin who saves more tends to be the twin who experiences less financial distress. This result suggest that there is a direct association between saving disposition and financial distress, although the direction of causation remains unclear.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandros Giannelis
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, 75 East River Road, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Emily A. Willoughby
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, 75 East River Road, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Robin Corley
- Institute of Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CA 80308, USA
| | - Christian Hopfer
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
| | - John K. Hewitt
- Institute of Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CA 80308, USA
| | - William G. Iacono
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, 75 East River Road, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Jacob Anderson
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, 75 East River Road, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Aldo Rustichini
- Department of Economics, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, 1925 4th Street South 4-101, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Scott I. Vrieze
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, 75 East River Road, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Matt McGue
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, 75 East River Road, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - James J. Lee
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, 75 East River Road, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
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14
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Ojalehto E, Finkel D, Russ TC, Karlsson IK, Ericsson M. Influences of genetically predicted and attained education on geographic mobility and their association with mortality. Soc Sci Med 2023; 324:115882. [PMID: 37030096 DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.115882] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2022] [Revised: 03/24/2023] [Accepted: 03/29/2023] [Indexed: 04/03/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Both educational attainment and genetic propensity to education (PGSEdu) have been associated with geographic mobility. Socioeconomic conditions are, in turn, associated with individuals' health. Geographic mobility could therefore lead to better health for some since it could provide better opportunities, like education. Our aim was to study how attained education and genetic predisposition for higher education are related to geographic mobility, and how they affect the association between geographic mobility and mortality. METHODS We used data from the Swedish Twin Registry (twins born 1926-1955; n = 14,211) in logistic regression models to test if attained education and PGSEdu predicted geographic mobility. Cox regression models were then performed to test if geographic mobility, attained education, and PGSEdu were associated with mortality. RESULTS The results show that both attained education and PGSEdu predicted geographic mobility, in both independent and joint effect models, with higher education associated with higher mobility. Geographic mobility was associated with lower mortality in the independent effect model, but joint effect models showed that this association was completely explained by attained education. CONCLUSIONS To conclude, both attained education and PGSEdu were associated with geographic mobility. Moreover, attained education explained the relationship between geographic mobility and mortality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elsa Ojalehto
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
| | - Deborah Finkel
- Center for Economic and Social Research, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Aging Research Network - Jönköping, School of Health and Welfare, Jönköping University, Jönköping, Sweden
| | - Tom C Russ
- Alzheimer Scotland Dementia Research Centre, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK; Division of Psychiatry, Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Ida K Karlsson
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Aging Research Network - Jönköping, School of Health and Welfare, Jönköping University, Jönköping, Sweden
| | - Malin Ericsson
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Aging Research Center, Karolinska Institutet & Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
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Kendler KS, Ohlsson H, Sundquist J, Sundquist K. The moderation of the genetic risk for alcohol and drug use disorders in a Swedish national sample by the genetic aptitude for educational attainment. Psychol Med 2023; 53:3077-3084. [PMID: 37449484 PMCID: PMC10953683 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291721005134] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Does the genetic aptitude for educational attainment (GAEA) moderate the genetic risk for alcohol use disorder (AUD) and drug use disorder (DUD)? METHODS In the native Swedish population, born 1960-1980 and followed through 2017 (n = 1 862 435), the family genetic risk score (FGRS) for AUD and DUD and GAEA were calculated from, respectively, the educational attainment and risk for AUD and DUD, of 1st through 5th degree relatives from Swedish national registers. Analyses utilized Aalen's linear hazards models. RESULTS Risk for AUD was robustly predicted by the main effects of FGRSAUD [b = 6.32 (95% CI 6.21-6.43), z = 64.9, p < 0.001) and GAEA [b = -2.90 (2.83-2.97), z = 44.1, p < 0.001] and their interaction [b = -1.93 (1.83-2.03), z = 32.9, p < 0.001]. Results were similar for the prediction of DUD by the main effects of FGRSDUD [b = 4.65 (CI 4.56-4.74), z = 59.4, p < 0.001] and GAEA [-2.08 (2.03-2.13), z = 46.4, p < 0.001] and their interaction [b = -1.58 (1.50-1.66)), z = 30.2, p < 0.001]. The magnitude of the interactions between GAEA and FGRSAUD and FGRSDUD in the prediction of, respectively, AUD and DUD was attenuated only slightly by the addition of educational attainment to the model. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE The genetic propensity to high educational attainment robustly moderates the genetic risk for both AUD and DUD such that the impact of the genetic liability to AUD and DUD on the risk of illness is substantially attenuated in those with high v. low GAEA. This effect is not appreciably mediated by the actual level of educational attainment. These naturalistic findings could form the basis of prevention efforts in high-risk youth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kenneth S. Kendler
- Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
| | - Henrik Ohlsson
- Center for Primary Health Care Research, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden
| | - Jan Sundquist
- Center for Primary Health Care Research, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden
- Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, Department of Population Health Science and Policy, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, USA
| | - Kristina Sundquist
- Center for Primary Health Care Research, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden
- Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, Department of Population Health Science and Policy, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, USA
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Fletcher JM, Wu Y, Zhao Z, Lu Q. The production of within-family inequality: Insights and implications of integrating genetic data. PNAS Nexus 2023; 2:pgad121. [PMID: 37124401 PMCID: PMC10139699 DOI: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgad121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2022] [Revised: 03/14/2023] [Accepted: 04/06/2023] [Indexed: 05/02/2023]
Abstract
The integration of genetic data within large-scale social and health surveys provides new opportunities to test long-standing theories of parental investments in children and within-family inequality. Genetic predictors, called polygenic scores, allow novel assessments of young children's abilities that are uncontaminated by parental investments, and family-based samples allow indirect tests of whether children's abilities are reinforced or compensated. We use over 16,000 sibling pairs from the UK Biobank to test whether the relative ranking of siblings' polygenic scores for educational attainment is consequential for actual attainments. We find evidence consistent with compensatory processes, on average, where the association between genotype and phenotype of educational attainment is reduced by over 20% for the higher-ranked sibling compared to the lower-ranked sibling. These effects are most pronounced in high socioeconomic status areas. We find no evidence that similar processes hold in the case of height or for relatives who are not full biological siblings (e.g. cousins). Our results provide a new use of polygenic scores to understand processes that generate within-family inequalities and also suggest important caveats to causal interpretations the effects of polygenic scores using sibling difference designs. Future work should seek to replicate these findings in other data and contexts.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Yuchang Wu
- Department of Biostatistics and Medical Informatics, Genetics-Biotech Center, 425 Henry Mall, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Zijie Zhao
- Department of Biostatistics and Medical Informatics, Genetics-Biotech Center, 425 Henry Mall, Madison, WI 53706, USA
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17
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Sørensen HJ, Antonsen S, Benros ME, Erlangsen A, Albiñana C, Nordentoft M, Børglum AD, Mors O, Werge T, Mortensen PB, Hougaard D, Webb RT, Agerbo E. School performance and genetic propensities for educational attainment and depression in the etiology of self-harm: a Danish population-based study. Nord J Psychiatry 2023; 77:179-187. [PMID: 35635301 PMCID: PMC9883111 DOI: 10.1080/08039488.2022.2078998] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2021] [Revised: 04/21/2022] [Accepted: 04/29/2022] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Poor school performance is linked to higher risks of self-harm. The association might be explained through genetic liabilities for depression or educational attainment. We investigated the association between school performance and self-harm in a population-based sample while assessing the potential influence of polygenic risk scores (PRSs) for depression (PRSMDD) and for educational attainment (PRSEDU). METHOD We conducted a follow-up study of individuals born 1987-98 and followed from age 18 until 2016. The total sample consisted of a case group (23,779 diagnosed with mental disorders; schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, autism, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and a randomly sampled comparison group (n = 10,925). Genome-wide data were obtained from the Neonatal Screening Biobank and information on school performance, family psychiatric history, and socioeconomic status from national administrative registers. RESULTS Individuals in the top PRSMDD decile were at higher self-harm risk in the case group (IRR: 1.30; 95% CI 1.15-1.46), whereas individuals in the top PRSEDU decile were at lower self-harm risk (IRR: 0.63; 95% CI: 0.55-0.74). Poorer school performance was associated with higher self-harm risk in persons diagnosed with any mental disorder (IRR: 1.69; 95% CI: 1.44-1.99) and among the comparison group (IRR: 7.93; 95% CI: 4.47-15.18). Observed effects of PRSMDD and PRSEDU on self-harm risk were strongest for individuals with poor school performance. CONCLUSION Associations between PRSMDD and self-harm risk and between PRSEDU and self-harm risk were found. Nevertheless, these polygenic scores seem currently of limited clinical utility for identifying individuals at high self-harm risk.
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Affiliation(s)
- Holger J. Sørensen
- iPSYCH—The Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research, Denmark
- Copenhagen Research Center for Mental Health, CORE, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
- Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Sussie Antonsen
- iPSYCH—The Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research, Denmark
- NCRR - National Centre for Register-Based Research, Department of Economics & Business Economics, Aarhus University, Denmark
| | - Michael E. Benros
- iPSYCH—The Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research, Denmark
- Copenhagen Research Center for Mental Health, CORE, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Annette Erlangsen
- iPSYCH—The Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research, Denmark
- Copenhagen Research Center for Mental Health, CORE, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
- Danish Research Institute for Suicide Prevention, Denmark
- Department of Mental Health, Bloomberg Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, USA
- Centre for Mental Health Research, Australian National University, Australia
| | - Clara Albiñana
- iPSYCH—The Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research, Denmark
- NCRR - National Centre for Register-Based Research, Department of Economics & Business Economics, Aarhus University, Denmark
| | - Merete Nordentoft
- iPSYCH—The Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research, Denmark
- Copenhagen Research Center for Mental Health, CORE, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
- Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Anders D. Børglum
- iPSYCH—The Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research, Denmark
- Department of Biomedicine and Centre for Integrative Sequencing (iSEQ), Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- Center for Genomics and Personalized Medicine, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Ole Mors
- iPSYCH—The Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Thomas Werge
- iPSYCH—The Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research, Denmark
- Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
- Institute of Biological Psychiatry, MHC, Sankt Hans Mental Health Services, Copenhagen, Roskilde, Denmark
| | - Preben B. Mortensen
- iPSYCH—The Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research, Denmark
- NCRR - National Centre for Register-Based Research, Department of Economics & Business Economics, Aarhus University, Denmark
| | - David Hougaard
- iPSYCH—The Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research, Denmark
- Centre for Neonatal Screening, Department for Congenital Disorders, Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Roger T. Webb
- Manchester Academic Health Sciences Centre (MAHSC), Manchester, UK
| | - Esben Agerbo
- iPSYCH—The Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research, Denmark
- NCRR - National Centre for Register-Based Research, Department of Economics & Business Economics, Aarhus University, Denmark
- CIRRAU - Centre for Integrated Register- Based Research, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
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Su J, Kuo SIC, Trevino A, Barr PB, Aliev F, Bucholz K, Chan G, Edenberg HJ, Kuperman S, Lai D, Meyers JL, Pandey G, Porjesz B, Dick DM. Examining social genetic effects on educational attainment via parental educational attainment, income, and parenting. J Fam Psychol 2022; 36:1340-1350. [PMID: 35666911 PMCID: PMC9733825 DOI: 10.1037/fam0001003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Higher parental educational attainment is associated with higher offspring educational attainment. In this study, we incorporated genotypic and phenotypic information from fathers, mothers, and offspring to disentangle the genetic and socioenvironmental pathways underlying this association. Data were drawn from a sample of individuals of European ancestry from the collaborative study on the genetics of alcoholism (n = 4,089; 51% female). Results from path analysis indicated that paternal and maternal educational attainment genome-wide polygenic scores were associated with offspring educational attainment, above and beyond the effect of offspring education polygenic score. Parental educational attainment, income, and parenting behaviors served as important socioenvironmental pathways that mediated the effect of parental education polygenic score on offspring educational attainment. Our study highlights the importance of using genetically informed family studies to disentangle the genetic and socioenvironmental pathways underlying parental influences on human development. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinni Su
- Department of Psychology, Arizona State University
| | - Sally I-Chun Kuo
- Department of Psychiatry, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Rutgers University
| | | | - Peter B. Barr
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University
| | - Fazil Aliev
- Rutgers Addiction Research Center, Rutgers University
| | | | - Grace Chan
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Connecticut School of Medicine
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa
| | | | | | - Dongbing Lai
- Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics, Indiana University
| | - Jacquelyn L. Meyers
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University
| | - Gayathri Pandey
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University
| | - Bernice Porjesz
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University
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Langevin S, Caspi A, Barnes JC, Brennan G, Poulton R, Purdy SC, Ramrakha S, Tanksley PT, Thorne PR, Wilson G, Moffitt TE. Life-Course Persistent Antisocial Behavior and Accelerated Biological Aging in a Longitudinal Birth Cohort. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2022; 19:14402. [PMID: 36361282 PMCID: PMC9657643 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph192114402] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2022] [Revised: 10/24/2022] [Accepted: 10/25/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Prior research shows that individuals who have exhibited antisocial behavior are in poorer health than their same-aged peers. A major driver of poor health is aging itself, yet research has not investigated relationships between offending trajectories and biological aging. We tested the hypothesis that individuals following a life-course persistent (LCP) antisocial trajectory show accelerated aging in midlife. Trajectories of antisocial behavior from age 7 to 26 years were studied in the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study, a population-representative birth cohort (N = 1037). Signs of aging were assessed at age 45 years using previously validated measures including biomarkers, clinical tests, and self-reports. First, we tested whether the association between antisocial behavior trajectories and midlife signs of faster aging represented a decline from initial childhood health. We then tested whether decline was attributable to tobacco smoking, antipsychotic medication use, debilitating illnesses in adulthood, adverse exposures in childhood (maltreatment, socioeconomic disadvantage) and adulthood (incarceration), and to childhood self-control difficulties. Study members with a history of antisocial behavior had a significantly faster pace of biological aging by midlife, and this was most evident among individuals following the LCP trajectory (β, 0.22, 95%CI, 0.14, 0.28, p ≤ 0.001). This amounted to 4.3 extra years of biological aging between ages 25-45 years for Study members following the LCP trajectory compared to low-antisocial trajectory individuals. LCP offenders also experienced more midlife difficulties with hearing (β, -0.14, 95%CI, -0.21, -0.08, p ≤ 0.001), balance (β, -0.13, 95%CI, -0.18, -0.06, p ≤ 0.001), gait speed (β, -0.18, 95%CI, -0.24, -0.10, p ≤ 0.001), and cognitive functioning (β, -0.25, 95%CI, -0.31, -0.18, p ≤ 0.001). Associations represented a decline from childhood health. Associations persisted after controlling individually for tobacco smoking, antipsychotic medication use, midlife illnesses, maltreatment, socioeconomic status, incarceration, and childhood self-control difficulties. However, the cumulative effect of these lifestyle characteristics together explained why LCP offenders have a faster Pace of Aging than their peers. While older adults typically age-out of crime, LCP offenders will likely age-into the healthcare system earlier than their chronologically same-aged peers. Preventing young people from offending is likely to have substantial benefits for health, and people engaging in a LCP trajectory of antisocial behaviors might be the most in need of health promotion programs. We offer prevention and intervention strategies to reduce the financial burden of offenders on healthcare systems and improve their wellbeing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie Langevin
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
| | - Ashalom Caspi
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
- Center for Genomic and Computational Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
- Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center, Durham VA Healthcare System, Durham, NC 27705, USA
| | - J. C. Barnes
- School of Criminal Justice, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221, USA
| | - Grace Brennan
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
| | - Richie Poulton
- Department of Psychology, University of Otago, Dunedin 9016, New Zealand
| | - Suzanne C. Purdy
- Discipline of Speech Science, University of Auckland, Auckland 1142, New Zealand
| | - Sandhya Ramrakha
- Department of Psychology, University of Otago, Dunedin 9016, New Zealand
| | - Peter T. Tanksley
- Population Research Center, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78705, USA
| | - Peter R. Thorne
- Discipline of Audiology, University of Auckland, Auckland 1142, New Zealand
| | - Graham Wilson
- Matai Medical Research Institute, Gisborne 4010, New Zealand
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Asbury K, McBride T, Bawn R. Can genomic research make a useful contribution to social policy? R Soc Open Sci 2022; 9:220873. [PMID: 36425516 PMCID: PMC9682296 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.220873] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2022] [Accepted: 10/26/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
As genetic research into outcomes beyond health gathers pace, largely through the use of genome-wide association studies, interest from policy-makers has grown. In the last year, two UK reports have explored the policy implications of genomic research, one from the UK Government Office for Science and one from the Early Intervention Foundation. In this article, we explore areas of consensus between these two reports and use them to propose priorities for policy-makers as we prepare for what some have termed a 'genetic revolution'. Both reports agree on two clear recommendations for science and policy communities. One of these relates to public education and engagement, and the other to ensuring that genomic databases are ancestrally diverse. Both reports agree that-even if it is found to be a viable and ethical idea in the medium-term future-DNA data should not be incorporated into social policy before these two issues have been comprehensively addressed. In the article, we argue that scientists are taking the lead on tackling the diversity deficit but that there is a clear role for policy-makers to play in addressing low genetic literacy in society, and that this is a matter of urgency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathryn Asbury
- Department of Education, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK
| | - Tom McBride
- Ending Youth Violence Lab, Behavioural Insights Team, London SW1H 9NP, UK
| | - Rosie Bawn
- Department of Education, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK
- University of Exeter, Stocker Road, Exeter EX4 4PY, UK
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21
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Pingault J, Allegrini AG, Odigie T, Frach L, Baldwin JR, Rijsdijk F, Dudbridge F. Research Review: How to interpret associations between polygenic scores, environmental risks, and phenotypes. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2022; 63:1125-1139. [PMID: 35347715 PMCID: PMC9790749 DOI: 10.1111/jcpp.13607] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/23/2022] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Genetic influences are ubiquitous as virtually all phenotypes and most exposures typically classified as environmental have been found to be heritable. A polygenic score summarises the associations between millions of genetic variants and an outcome in a single value for each individual. Ever lowering costs have enabled the genotyping of many samples relevant to child psychology and psychiatry research, including cohort studies, leading to the proliferation of polygenic score studies. It is tempting to assume that associations detected between polygenic scores and phenotypes in those studies only reflect genetic effects. However, such associations can reflect many pathways (e.g. via environmental mediation) and biases. METHODS Here, we provide a comprehensive overview of the many reasons why associations between polygenic scores, environmental exposures, and phenotypes exist. We include formal representations of common analyses in polygenic score studies using structural equation modelling. We derive biases, provide illustrative empirical examples and, when possible, mention steps that can be taken to alleviate those biases. RESULTS Structural equation models and derivations show the many complexities arising from jointly modelling polygenic scores with environmental exposures and phenotypes. Counter-intuitive examples include that: (a) associations between polygenic scores and phenotypes may exist even in the absence of direct genetic effects; (b) associations between child polygenic scores and environmental exposures can exist in the absence of evocative/active gene-environment correlations; and (c) adjusting an exposure-outcome association for a polygenic score can increase rather than decrease bias. CONCLUSIONS Strikingly, using polygenic scores may, in some cases, lead to more bias than not using them. Appropriately conducting and interpreting polygenic score studies thus requires researchers in child psychology and psychiatry and beyond to be versed in both epidemiological and genetic methods or build on interdisciplinary collaborations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jean‐Baptiste Pingault
- Division of Psychology and Language SciencesDepartment of Clinical, Educational and Health PsychologyUniversity College LondonLondonUK
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry CentreInstitute of Psychiatry, Psychology and NeuroscienceKing’s College LondonLondonUK
| | - Andrea G. Allegrini
- Division of Psychology and Language SciencesDepartment of Clinical, Educational and Health PsychologyUniversity College LondonLondonUK
| | - Tracy Odigie
- Division of Psychology and Language SciencesDepartment of Clinical, Educational and Health PsychologyUniversity College LondonLondonUK
| | - Leonard Frach
- Division of Psychology and Language SciencesDepartment of Clinical, Educational and Health PsychologyUniversity College LondonLondonUK
| | - Jessie R. Baldwin
- Division of Psychology and Language SciencesDepartment of Clinical, Educational and Health PsychologyUniversity College LondonLondonUK
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry CentreInstitute of Psychiatry, Psychology and NeuroscienceKing’s College LondonLondonUK
| | - Frühling Rijsdijk
- Faculty of Social SciencesAnton de Kom University of SurinameParamariboSuriname
| | - Frank Dudbridge
- Department of Health SciencesUniversity of LeicesterLeicesterUK
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22
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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] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [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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23
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Burt CH. Cultural evolutionary theory is not enough: Ambiguous culture, neglect of structure, and the absence of theory in behavior genetics. Behav Brain Sci 2022; 45:e157. [PMID: 36098430 DOI: 10.1017/S0140525X21001552] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
Uchiyama et al. propose a unified model linking cultural evolutionary theory to behavior genetics (BG) to enhance generalizability, enrich explanation, and predict how social factors shape heritability estimates. A consideration of culture evolution is beneficial but insufficient for purpose. I submit that their proposed model is underdeveloped and their emphasis on heritability estimates misguided. I discuss their ambiguous conception of culture, neglect of social structure, and the lack of a general theory in BG.
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Mitchell BL, Hansell NK, McAloney K, Martin NG, Wright MJ, Renteria ME, Grasby KL. Polygenic influences associated with adolescent cognitive skills. Intelligence 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.intell.2022.101680] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
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25
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Merz EC, Strack J, Hurtado H, Vainik U, Thomas M, Evans A, Khundrakpam B. Educational attainment polygenic scores, socioeconomic factors, and cortical structure in children and adolescents. Hum Brain Mapp 2022; 43:4886-4900. [PMID: 35894163 PMCID: PMC9582364 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.26034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2022] [Revised: 06/08/2022] [Accepted: 07/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Genome‐wide polygenic scores for educational attainment (PGS‐EA) and socioeconomic factors, which are correlated with each other, have been consistently associated with academic achievement and general cognitive ability in children and adolescents. Yet, the independent associations of PGS‐EA and socioeconomic factors with specific underlying factors at the neural and neurocognitive levels are not well understood. The main goals of this study were to examine the unique contributions of PGS‐EA and parental education to cortical structure and neurocognitive skills in children and adolescents, and the associations among PGS‐EA, cortical structure, and neurocognitive skills. Participants were typically developing 3‐ to 21‐year‐olds (53% male; N = 391). High‐resolution, T1‐weighted magnetic resonance imaging data were acquired, and cortical thickness (CT) and surface area (SA) were measured. PGS‐EA were computed based on the EA3 genome‐wide association study of educational attainment. Participants completed executive function, vocabulary, and episodic memory tasks. Higher PGS‐EA and parental education were independently and significantly associated with greater total SA and vocabulary. Higher PGS‐EA was significantly associated with greater SA in the left medial orbitofrontal gyrus and inferior frontal gyrus, which was associated with higher executive function. Higher parental education was significantly associated with greater SA in the left parahippocampal gyrus after accounting for PGS‐EA and total brain volume. These findings suggest that education‐linked genetics may influence SA in frontal regions, leading to variability in executive function. Associations of parental education with cortical structure in children and adolescents remained significant after controlling for PGS‐EA, a source of genetic confounding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily C Merz
- Department of Psychology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Jordan Strack
- Department of Psychology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Hailee Hurtado
- Department of Psychology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Uku Vainik
- University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia.,Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | - Michael Thomas
- Department of Psychology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Alan Evans
- Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
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26
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Wickrama KAS, Wickrama T, Bae D, Merten M. Early socioeconomic adversity and young adult diabetic risk: an investigation of genetically informed biopsychosocial processes over the life course. Biodemography Soc Biol 2022; 67:203-223. [PMID: 36573270 DOI: 10.1080/19485565.2022.2161463] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
The present study investigated a comprehensive model that integrates contributions of early socioeconomic adversity (ESA) and multiple polygenic scores (PGSs) through different mechanisms leading to diabetic risk in early adulthood. The study used prospective, longitudinal data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent and Adult Health (Add Health) with a sample of 5,728 youth of European ancestry. The results showed that both ESA and PGSs were involved in different mechanisms. ESA contributed additively to educational failures, BMI, depressive symptoms, and diabetes risk over the life course (an additive process). Also, ESA launched a cascading process that connected these outcomes in a successively contingent manner. In addition to ESA, youths' multiple PGSs directly contributed to educational, psychological, and BMI outcomes. Multiple PGSs for education, BMI, and type 2 diabetes influenced not only youth outcomes that they were supposed to predict directly but also additional youth outcomes showing biological pleiotropy. The findings highlight the value of incorporating molecular genetic information into longitudinal developmental life course research and provide insight into malleable characteristics and appropriate timing for interventions addressing youth developmental and health outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Thulitha Wickrama
- Department of Child, Youth and Family Studies, University of Nebraska
| | - Dayoung Bae
- Child and Adolescent Department, Korea University, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Michael Merten
- Department of Child, Youth and Family Studies, University of Nebraska
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27
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Burt CH. Challenging the utility of polygenic scores for social science: Environmental confounding, downward causation, and unknown biology. Behav Brain Sci 2022; 46:e207. [PMID: 35551690 PMCID: PMC9653522 DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x22001145] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
The sociogenomics revolution is upon us, we are told. Whether revolutionary or not, sociogenomics is poised to flourish given the ease of incorporating polygenic scores (or PGSs) as "genetic propensities" for complex traits into social science research. Pointing to evidence of ubiquitous heritability and the accessibility of genetic data, scholars have argued that social scientists not only have an opportunity but a duty to add PGSs to social science research. Social science research that ignores genetics is, some proponents argue, at best partial and likely scientifically flawed, misleading, and wasteful. Here, I challenge arguments about the value of genetics for social science and with it the claimed necessity of incorporating PGSs into social science models as measures of genetic influences. In so doing, I discuss the impracticability of distinguishing genetic influences from environmental influences because of non-causal gene-environment correlations, especially population stratification, familial confounding, and downward causation. I explain how environmental effects masquerade as genetic influences in PGSs, which undermines their raison d'être as measures of genetic propensity, especially for complex socially contingent behaviors that are the subject of sociogenomics. Additionally, I draw attention to the partial, unknown biology, while highlighting the persistence of an implicit, unavoidable reductionist genes versus environments approach. Leaving sociopolitical and ethical concerns aside, I argue that the potential scientific rewards of adding PGSs to social science are few and greatly overstated and the scientific costs, which include obscuring structural disadvantages and cultural influences, outweigh these meager benefits for most social science applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Callie H Burt
- Department of Criminal Justice & Criminology, Center for Research on Interpersonal Violence (CRIV), Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USA ; www.callieburt.org
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28
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Abstract
Behavior genetics is a controversial science. For decades, scholars have sought to understand the role of heredity in human behavior and life-course outcomes. Recently, technological advances and the rapid expansion of genomic databases have facilitated the discovery of genes associated with human phenotypes such as educational attainment and substance use disorders. To maximize the potential of this flourishing science, and to minimize potential harms, careful analysis of what it would mean for genes to be causes of human behavior is needed. In this paper, we advance a framework for identifying instances of genetic causes, interpreting those causal relationships, and applying them to advance causal knowledge more generally in the social sciences. Central to thinking about genes as causes is counterfactual reasoning, the cornerstone of causal thinking in statistics, medicine, and philosophy. We argue that within-family genetic effects represent the product of a counterfactual comparison in the same way as average treatment effects (ATEs) from randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Both ATEs from RCTs and within-family genetic effects are shallow causes: They operate within intricate causal systems (non-unitary), produce heterogeneous effects across individuals (non-uniform), and are not mechanistically informative (non-explanatory). Despite these limitations, shallow causal knowledge can be used to improve understanding of the etiology of human behavior and to explore sources of heterogeneity and fade-out in treatment effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- James W Madole
- Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
- VA Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - K Paige Harden
- Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
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29
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Wickrama KKAS, Lee TK, Klopack ET, Lee S, O'Neal CW. Patterns of Co-occurring Developmental Failures in Adolescence: Socioeconomic and Genetic Antecedents and Health Outcomes in Adulthood. Biodemography Soc Biol 2022; 67:102-121. [PMID: 35321604 DOI: 10.1080/19485565.2022.2052710] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
This study investigates (1) conjoint latent classes of adolescent co-occurring developmental problems (obesity, depressive symptoms, and low educational attainment), (2) socioeconomic and genetic influences on these classes of adolescents' problem trajectories, and (3) physical health consequences of those latent classes. Data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health; N = 9,107; mean age = 15.5 years; Female = 52.9 per cent) were used to identify classes of early socioeconomic adversity and conjoint trajectory groups of co-occurring developmental problems. Profiles of social antecedents, genetic endowments (polygenic scores), and physical health outcomes in young adulthood were compared across identified four conjoint trajectory risk groups (overall high-risk, overall low-risk, BMI-risk or obesity, low education-risk). The results showed that youth with overall high-risk and BMI/education-specific risk trajectory groups were more likely to be Black or Hispanic, reported more adverse socioeconomic characteristics and genetic endowment, and averaged significantly poorer physical health in young adulthood compared with youth in the overall low-risk problem trajectory group. Less pronounced differences emerged between the high-risk and problem-specific-risk groups. The findings highlight heterogeneity in adolescent co-occurring developmental problems. Adolescent heterogeneous problem co-development is associated with background socioeconomic and genetic characteristics and physical health in young adulthood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kandauda K A S Wickrama
- Department of Human Development and Family Science, The University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, United States of America
| | - Tae Kyoung Lee
- Department of Child Psychology and Education/ Social Innovation Convergence Program, Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Eric T Klopack
- Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California United States of America
| | - Seonhwa Lee
- Graduate School of Human Services Studies, Seoul Women's University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Catherine Walker O'Neal
- Department of Human Development and Family Science, The University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, United States of America
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30
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Okbay A, Wu Y, Wang N, Jayashankar H, Bennett M, Nehzati SM, Sidorenko J, Kweon H, Goldman G, Gjorgjieva T, Jiang Y, Hicks B, Tian C, Hinds DA, Ahlskog R, Magnusson PKE, Oskarsson S, Hayward C, Campbell A, Porteous DJ, Freese J, Herd P, Watson C, Jala J, Conley D, Koellinger PD, Johannesson M, Laibson D, Meyer MN, Lee JJ, Kong A, Yengo L, Cesarini D, Turley P, Visscher PM, Beauchamp JP, Benjamin DJ, Young AI. Polygenic prediction of educational attainment within and between families from genome-wide association analyses in 3 million individuals. Nat Genet 2022; 54:437-449. [PMID: 35361970 PMCID: PMC9005349 DOI: 10.1038/s41588-022-01016-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 161] [Impact Index Per Article: 80.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2021] [Accepted: 01/20/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
We conduct a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of educational attainment (EA) in a sample of ~3 million individuals and identify 3,952 approximately uncorrelated genome-wide-significant single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). A genome-wide polygenic predictor, or polygenic index (PGI), explains 12-16% of EA variance and contributes to risk prediction for ten diseases. Direct effects (i.e., controlling for parental PGIs) explain roughly half the PGI's magnitude of association with EA and other phenotypes. The correlation between mate-pair PGIs is far too large to be consistent with phenotypic assortment alone, implying additional assortment on PGI-associated factors. In an additional GWAS of dominance deviations from the additive model, we identify no genome-wide-significant SNPs, and a separate X-chromosome additive GWAS identifies 57.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aysu Okbay
- Department of Economics, School of Business and Economics, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
| | - Yeda Wu
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Nancy Wang
- National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | | | | | | | - Julia Sidorenko
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Hyeokmoon Kweon
- Department of Economics, School of Business and Economics, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Grant Goldman
- National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Rafael Ahlskog
- Department of Government, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Patrik K E Magnusson
- Swedish Twin Registry, Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Sven Oskarsson
- Department of Government, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Caroline Hayward
- MRC Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Archie Campbell
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh, UK
- Usher Institute, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - David J Porteous
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh, UK
- Usher Institute, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
- Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Jeremy Freese
- Department of Sociology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Pamela Herd
- McCourt School of Public Policy, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Chelsea Watson
- UCLA Anderson School of Management, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Jonathan Jala
- UCLA Anderson School of Management, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Dalton Conley
- Department of Sociology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Philipp D Koellinger
- Department of Economics, School of Business and Economics, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Robert M. La Follette School of Public Affairs, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Magnus Johannesson
- Department of Economics, Stockholm School of Economics, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - David Laibson
- Department of Economics, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Michelle N Meyer
- Center for Translational Bioethics and Health Care Policy, Geisinger Health System, Danville, PA, USA
| | - James J Lee
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Augustine Kong
- Big Data Institute, Li Ka Shing Centre for Health Information and Discovery, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Loic Yengo
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - David Cesarini
- National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Economics, New York University, New York, NY, USA
- Center for Experimental Social Science, New York University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Patrick Turley
- Department of Economics, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Center for Economic and Social Research, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Peter M Visscher
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
| | - Jonathan P Beauchamp
- Interdisciplinary Center for Economic Science and Department of Economics, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA
| | - Daniel J Benjamin
- National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, MA, USA.
- UCLA Anderson School of Management, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
- Human Genetics Department, UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
| | - Alexander I Young
- UCLA Anderson School of Management, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
- Human Genetics Department, UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
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32
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Austerberry C, Fearon P, Ronald A, Leve LD, Ganiban JM, Natsuaki MN, Shaw DS, Neiderhiser JM, Reiss D. Early manifestations of intellectual performance: Evidence that genetic effects on later academic test performance are mediated through verbal performance in early childhood. Child Dev 2022; 93:e188-e206. [PMID: 34783370 PMCID: PMC10861934 DOI: 10.1111/cdev.13706] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Intellectual performance is highly heritable and robustly predicts lifelong health and success but the earliest manifestations of genetic effects on this asset are not well understood. This study examined whether early executive function (EF) or verbal performance mediate genetic influences on subsequent intellectual performance, in 561 U.S.-based adoptees (57% male) and their birth and adoptive parents (70% and 92% White, 13% and 4% African American, 7% and 2% Latinx, respectively), administered measures in 2003-2017. Genetic influences on children's academic performance at 7 years were mediated by verbal performance at 4.5 years (β = .22, 95% CI [0.08, 0.35], p = .002) and not via EF, indicating that verbal performance is an early manifestation of genetic propensity for intellectual performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chloe Austerberry
- Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, UCL, London, UK
| | - Pasco Fearon
- Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, UCL, London, UK
| | - Angelica Ronald
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, London, UK
| | - Leslie D. Leve
- Prevention Science Institute, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, USA
| | - Jody M. Ganiban
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
| | - Misaki N. Natsuaki
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside, California, USA
| | - Daniel S. Shaw
- Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Jenae M. Neiderhiser
- Department of Psychology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - David Reiss
- Yale Child Study Center, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
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33
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Box-Steffensmeier JM, Burgess J, Corbetta M, Crawford K, Duflo E, Fogarty L, Gopnik A, Hanafi S, Herrero M, Hong YY, Kameyama Y, Lee TMC, Leung GM, Nagin DS, Nobre AC, Nordentoft M, Okbay A, Perfors A, Rival LM, Sugimoto CR, Tungodden B, Wagner C. The future of human behaviour research. Nat Hum Behav 2022; 6:15-24. [PMID: 35087189 DOI: 10.1038/s41562-021-01275-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Jean Burgess
- School of Communication and Digital Media Research Centre (DMRC), Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. .,Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society (ADM+S), Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
| | - Maurizio Corbetta
- Department of Neuroscience and Padova Neuroscience Center (PNC), University of Padova, Padova, Italy. .,Venetian Institute of Molecular Medicine (VIMM), Padova, Italy.
| | - Kate Crawford
- Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA. .,Microsoft Research New York, New York, NY, USA. .,École Normale Supérieure, Paris, France.
| | - Esther Duflo
- Department of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
| | - Laurel Fogarty
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology, and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Alison Gopnik
- Department of Psychology, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
| | - Sari Hanafi
- American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon.
| | - Mario Herrero
- Department of Global Development, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.
| | - Ying-Yi Hong
- Department of Management, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China.
| | - Yasuko Kameyama
- Center for Social and Environmental Systems Research, Social Systems Division, National Institute for Environmental Studies, Tsukuba, Japan.
| | - Tatia M C Lee
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and Laboratory of Neuropsychology and Human Neuroscience, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China.
| | - Gabriel M Leung
- WHO Collaborating Centre for Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Control, School of Public Health, LKS Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China. .,Laboratory of Data Discovery for Health, Hong Kong Science and Technology Park, Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China.
| | - Daniel S Nagin
- Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
| | - Anna C Nobre
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK. .,Oxford Centre for Human Brain Activity, Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
| | - Merete Nordentoft
- CORE - Copenhagen Research Centre for Mental Health, Mental Health Centre Copenhagen, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark. .,Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
| | - Aysu Okbay
- Department of Economics, School of Business and Economics, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
| | - Andrew Perfors
- Complex Human Data Hub, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
| | | | - Cassidy R Sugimoto
- School of Public Policy, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA.
| | - Bertil Tungodden
- Centre of Excellence FAIR, NHH Norwegian School of Economics, Bergen, Norway.
| | - Claudia Wagner
- GESIS - Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences, Köln, Germany. .,RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany. .,Complexity Science Hub Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
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Mönkediek B, Diewald M. Do academic ability and social background influence each other in shaping educational attainment? The case of the transition to secondary education in Germany. Soc Sci Res 2022; 101:102625. [PMID: 34823674 DOI: 10.1016/j.ssresearch.2021.102625] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2020] [Revised: 05/26/2021] [Accepted: 07/29/2021] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
Studies examining the interplay between children's academic ability and parental background are rare, and their findings are mixed and inconclusive. This paper addresses possible reinforcing or compensating relationships between child characteristics and parental social background in their influence on the transition to upper secondary education, the most important transition in the German school system. We use the German TwinLife data for genetically informed analyses and include comprehensive information on parental background as well as child cognitive ability and personality. We find no evidence for a significant influence of reinforcing or compensatory interactions in addition to the strong additive effects of child and parental characteristics. The ACE decomposition with covariates shows an almost equal influence of genetic variation and shared environments. However, indicators of child academic ability and parental background contribute only a little to explaining both contributions. Interestingly, the influence of child characteristics on enrollment in upper secondary school works mainly through environmental rather than genetic effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bastian Mönkediek
- Faculty of Sociology, Bielefeld University, Universitätsstraße 25, 33615, Bielefeld, Germany.
| | - Martin Diewald
- Faculty of Sociology, Bielefeld University, Universitätsstraße 25, 33615, Bielefeld, Germany
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35
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Ujma PP, Eszlári N, Millinghoffer A, Bruncsics B, Török D, Petschner P, Antal P, Deakin B, Breen G, Bagdy G, Juhász G. Genetic effects on educational attainment in Hungary. Brain Behav 2022; 12:e2430. [PMID: 34843176 PMCID: PMC8785634 DOI: 10.1002/brb3.2430] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2020] [Revised: 06/08/2021] [Accepted: 10/25/2021] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Educational attainment is a substantially heritable trait, and it has recently been linked to specific genetic variants by genome-wide association studies (GWASs). However, the effects of such genetic variants are expected to vary across environments, including countries and historical eras. METHODS We used polygenic scores (PGSs) to assess molecular genetic effects on educational attainment in Hungary, a country in the Central Eastern European region where behavioral genetic studies are in general scarce and molecular genetic studies of educational attainment have not been previously published. RESULTS We found that the PGS is significantly associated with the attainment of a college degree as well as the number of years in education in a sample of Hungarian study participants (N = 829). PGS effect sizes were not significantly different when compared to an English (N = 976) comparison sample with identical measurement protocols. In line with previous Estonian findings, we found higher PGS effect sizes in Hungarian, but not in English participants who attended higher education after the fall of Communism, although we lacked statistical power for this effect to reach significance. DISCUSSION Our results provide evidence that polygenic scores for educational attainment have predictive value in culturally diverse European populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Péter P Ujma
- Institute of Behavioural Sciences, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.,National Institute of Clinical Neuroscience, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Nóra Eszlári
- Department of Pharmacodynamics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.,NAP-2-SE New Antidepressant Target Research Group, Hungarian Brain Research Program, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - András Millinghoffer
- NAP-2-SE New Antidepressant Target Research Group, Hungarian Brain Research Program, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.,Department of Measurement and Information Systems, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Bence Bruncsics
- Department of Measurement and Information Systems, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Dóra Török
- Department of Pharmacodynamics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Péter Petschner
- Department of Pharmacodynamics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.,MTA-SE Neuropsychopharmacology and Neurochemistry Research Group, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Péter Antal
- Department of Measurement and Information Systems, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Bill Deakin
- Division of Neuroscience and Experimental Psychology, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.,Manchester Academic Health Sciences Centre, Manchester, UK.,Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, UK
| | - Gerome Breen
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, King's College London, London, UK
| | - György Bagdy
- Department of Pharmacodynamics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.,NAP-2-SE New Antidepressant Target Research Group, Hungarian Brain Research Program, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.,MTA-SE Neuropsychopharmacology and Neurochemistry Research Group, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Gabriella Juhász
- Department of Pharmacodynamics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.,SE-NAP 2 Genetic Brain Imaging Migraine Research Group, Hungarian Brain Research Program, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
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36
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Dawes CT, Okbay A, Oskarsson S, Rustichini A. A polygenic score for educational attainment partially predicts voter turnout. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:e2022715118. [PMID: 34873032 PMCID: PMC8685665 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2022715118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Twin and adoption studies have shown that individual differences in political participation can be explained, in part, by genetic variation. However, these research designs cannot identify which genes are related to voting or the pathways through which they exert influence, and their conclusions rely on possibly restrictive assumptions. In this study, we use three different US samples and a Swedish sample to test whether genes that have been identified as associated with educational attainment, one of the strongest correlates of political participation, predict self-reported and validated voter turnout. We find that a polygenic score capturing individuals' genetic propensity to acquire education is significantly related to turnout. The strongest associations we observe are in second-order midterm elections in the United States and European Parliament elections in Sweden, which tend to be viewed as less important by voters, parties, and the media and thus present a more information-poor electoral environment for citizens to navigate. A within-family analysis suggests that individuals' education-linked genes directly affect their voting behavior, but, for second-order elections, it also reveals evidence of genetic nurture. Finally, a mediation analysis suggests that educational attainment and cognitive ability combine to account for between 41% and 63% of the relationship between the genetic propensity to acquire education and voter turnout.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher T Dawes
- Wilf Family Department of Politics, New York University, New York, NY 10012;
| | - Aysu Okbay
- Department of Economics, School of Business and Economics, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 1081HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Sven Oskarsson
- Department of Government, Uppsala Universitet, 751 20 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Aldo Rustichini
- Department of Economics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455-0462
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Abstract
Increasingly, we are required, encouraged, and/or motivated to track our behavior, presumably to improve our life “quality.” But health and life-satisfaction trends are not cooperating: Empirical evidence for success is sorely lacking. Intelligence has been tracked for more than 100 years; perhaps this example offers some hints about tracking’s overall social impact. I suggest that Huxley’s Brave New World offers a relevant long-term extrapolation and that popular recent tracking activities will accelerate “progress” in that dystopian direction.
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38
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Becker J, Burik CAP, Goldman G, Wang N, Jayashankar H, Bennett M, Belsky DW, Karlsson Linnér R, Ahlskog R, Kleinman A, Hinds DA, Caspi A, Corcoran DL, Moffitt TE, Poulton R, Sugden K, Williams BS, Harris KM, Steptoe A, Ajnakina O, Milani L, Esko T, Iacono WG, McGue M, Magnusson PKE, Mallard TT, Harden KP, Tucker-Drob EM, Herd P, Freese J, Young A, Beauchamp JP, Koellinger PD, Oskarsson S, Johannesson M, Visscher PM, Meyer MN, Laibson D, Cesarini D, Benjamin DJ, Turley P, Okbay A. Resource profile and user guide of the Polygenic Index Repository. Nat Hum Behav 2021; 5:1744-1758. [PMID: 34140656 PMCID: PMC8678380 DOI: 10.1038/s41562-021-01119-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2020] [Accepted: 04/16/2021] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Polygenic indexes (PGIs) are DNA-based predictors. Their value for research in many scientific disciplines is growing rapidly. As a resource for researchers, we used a consistent methodology to construct PGIs for 47 phenotypes in 11 datasets. To maximize the PGIs' prediction accuracies, we constructed them using genome-wide association studies-some not previously published-from multiple data sources, including 23andMe and UK Biobank. We present a theoretical framework to help interpret analyses involving PGIs. A key insight is that a PGI can be understood as an unbiased but noisy measure of a latent variable we call the 'additive SNP factor'. Regressions in which the true regressor is this factor but the PGI is used as its proxy therefore suffer from errors-in-variables bias. We derive an estimator that corrects for the bias, illustrate the correction, and make a Python tool for implementing it publicly available.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joel Becker
- Department of Economics, New York University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Casper A P Burik
- Department of Economics, School of Business and Economics, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Grant Goldman
- National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Nancy Wang
- National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | | | | | - Daniel W Belsky
- Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York, NY, USA
- Robert N. Butler Columbia Aging Center, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Richard Karlsson Linnér
- Department of Economics, School of Business and Economics, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Rafael Ahlskog
- Department of Government, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | | | | | - Avshalom Caspi
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
- Social, Genetic, and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
- Center for Genomic and Computational Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - David L Corcoran
- Center for Genomic and Computational Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Terrie E Moffitt
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
- Social, Genetic, and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
- Center for Genomic and Computational Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Richie Poulton
- Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Research Unit, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Karen Sugden
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | | | - Kathleen Mullan Harris
- Department of Sociology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Andrew Steptoe
- Department of Behavioural Science and Health, University College London, London, UK
| | - Olesya Ajnakina
- Department of Behavioural Science and Health, University College London, London, UK
- Department of Biostatistics and Health Informatics, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Lili Milani
- Institute of Genomics, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Tõnu Esko
- Institute of Genomics, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - William G Iacono
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Matt McGue
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Patrik K E Magnusson
- Swedish Twin Registry, Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Travis T Mallard
- Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - K Paige Harden
- Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
- Population Research Center, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Elliot M Tucker-Drob
- Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
- Population Research Center, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Pamela Herd
- McCourt School of Public Policy, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Jeremy Freese
- Department of Sociology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Alexander Young
- UCLA Anderson School of Management, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Human Genetics Department, UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Jonathan P Beauchamp
- Interdisciplinary Center for Economic Science and Department of Economics, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA
| | - Philipp D Koellinger
- Department of Economics, School of Business and Economics, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Robert M. La Follette School of Public Affairs, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Sven Oskarsson
- Department of Government, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Magnus Johannesson
- Department of Economics, Stockholm School of Economics, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Peter M Visscher
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Michelle N Meyer
- Center for Translational Bioethics and Health Care Policy, Geisinger Health System, Danville, PA, USA
| | - David Laibson
- National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Economics, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - David Cesarini
- Department of Economics, New York University, New York, NY, USA.
- National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, MA, USA.
| | - Daniel J Benjamin
- National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, MA, USA.
- UCLA Anderson School of Management, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
- Human Genetics Department, UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
| | - Patrick Turley
- Center for Economic and Social Research, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
- Department of Economics, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
| | - Aysu Okbay
- Department of Economics, School of Business and Economics, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
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Wannemüller A, Kumsta R, Jöhren HP, Eley TC, Teismann T, Moser D, Rayner C, Breen G, Coleman J, Schaumburg S, Blackwell SE, Margraf J. Genes in treatment: Polygenic risk scores for different psychopathologies, neuroticism, educational attainment and IQ and the outcome of two different exposure-based fear treatments. World J Biol Psychiatry 2021; 22:699-712. [PMID: 33970774 DOI: 10.1080/15622975.2021.1907708] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2020] [Revised: 01/14/2021] [Accepted: 02/13/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Evidence for a genetic influence on psychological treatment outcome so far has been inconsistent, likely due to the focus on candidate genes and the heterogeneity of the disorders treated. Using polygenic risk scores (PRS) in homogenous patient samples may increase the chance of detecting genetic influences. METHODS A sample of 342 phobic patients treated either for clinically relevant dental fear (n = 189) or other (mixed) phobic fears (n = 153) underwent highly standardised exposure-based CBT. A brief five-session format was used to treat dental fear, whereas longer multi-session treatments were used with the mixed-fear cohort. PRS were calculated based on large genetic studies of Neuroticism, Educational Attainment (EA), Intelligence, and four psychopathology domains. We compared PRS of post-treatment and follow-up remitters and non-remitters and regressed PRS on fear reduction percentages. RESULTS In the dental fear cohort, EA PRS were associated with treatment outcomes, i.e. drop-out, short- and long-term remission state, fear reduction, and attendance of subsequent dental appointments. In the mixed fear treatment cohort, no gene effects were observable. CONCLUSIONS Results indicate the importance of EA-related traits for outcomes following brief, but not long, standardised exposure-based CBT. Such use of PRS may help inform selection and tailoring of treatments.
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Affiliation(s)
- André Wannemüller
- Mental Health Research and Treatment Center, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Robert Kumsta
- Department of Genetic Psychology, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | | | - Thalia C Eley
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
- NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, South London and Maudsley NHS Trust, London, UK
| | - Tobias Teismann
- Mental Health Research and Treatment Center, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Dirk Moser
- Department of Genetic Psychology, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Christopher Rayner
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Gerome Breen
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
- NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, South London and Maudsley NHS Trust, London, UK
| | - Jonathan Coleman
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Svenja Schaumburg
- Mental Health Research and Treatment Center, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Simon E Blackwell
- Mental Health Research and Treatment Center, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Jürgen Margraf
- Mental Health Research and Treatment Center, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Bochum, Germany
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40
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Abstract
BACKGROUND The philosophical debate about the roles of nature versus nurture in human flourishing is not new. But the rise of precision education-a growing field of research that encourages the use of genetic data to inform educational trajectory and interventions to better meet student needs-has renewed historical and ethical concerns. A major worry is that "genetic hype" may skew public perceptions toward a deterministic perception of the child's educational trajectory, regardless of the child's capacities, and underestimation of environmental factors affecting educational outcomes. We tested this hypothesis with parents and adults from the general public in the US. METHODS A newly developed computerized implicit association test (IAT) to assess automatic associations between genetics or environments and student behaviors that are associated with educational achievement was administered to samples of parents of children below 21 years old (n = 450) and adults from the general public (n = 419). The samples were representative of the adult US population and adjusted to oversample Black/African American participants. An overall D score for participants' IATs (range: [-2, 2]) was calculated on the basis of the speed of participants' responses. RESULTS The mean IAT score for both samples indicated stronger association between the quality of being a good student and environment rather than genetics (parents: mean=-0.146, t = -6.56, p < 0.001; general public: mean = -0.249, t = -9.45, p < 0.0001). Younger participants from the general public showed a stronger association between genetics and educational success than middle-aged participants (β = -0.301, p = 0.006). CONCLUSION The views of parents and the general public on behavioral genetics and education are complex but call for investment in creating educational environments that are supportive of student success. Future research is needed to understand differences across age groups and to explore views of other stakeholders involved in determining children's educational trajectories about the roles of nature versus nurture in precision education.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maya Sabatello
- Center for Precision Medicine and Genomics, Department of Medicine and Division of Ethics, Department of Medical Humanities and Ethics, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA
| | - Bree Martin
- Division of General Pediatrics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Thomas Corbeil
- Division of Mental Health Data Science, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, New York, USA
| | - Seonjoo Lee
- Department of Biostatistics and Psychiatry, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York, USA.,New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, New York, USA
| | - Bruce G Link
- School of Public Policy, University of California, Riverside, California, USA
| | - Paul S Appelbaum
- Center for Research on Ethical, Legal & Social Implications of Psychiatric, Neurologic & Behavioral Genetics, Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, USA
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41
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Wickrama KAS, OˋNeal CW, Lee TK, Lee S. Early life course processes leading to educational and economic attainment in young adulthood: Contributions of early socioeconomic adversity and education polygenic score. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0256967. [PMID: 34634049 PMCID: PMC8504765 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0256967] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2021] [Accepted: 08/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The present study investigated an integrated life course model, drawn from the life course theoretical perspective, to elucidate youth’s additive, cascading, and cumulative life course processes stemming from early socioeconomic adversity and education polygenic score (education PGS) as well as potential interactions between them (GxE), which contribute to subsequent young adult socioeconomic outcomes. Additionally, the independent, varying associations among social and genetic predictors, life-stage specific educational outcomes (educational achievement in adolescence and educational attainment, in later stages), and young adult economic outcomes were examined. The study used prospective, longitudinal data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent and Adult Health (Add Health) with a sample of 5,728 youth of European ancestry. Early family socioeconomic adversity and individual education PGS were associated with life stage-specific educational outcomes through additive and cascading processes linked to young adults’ economic outcomes (personal earnings) through a cumulative process. A GxE moderation existed between individuals’ education PGS and early socioeconomic adversity at multiple life stages, explaining variation in adolescent educational outcomes. Both early socioeconomic adversity and education PGS were persistently associated with youth’s educational and economic outcomes throughout the early life course. In sum, the findings based on the integrated life course model showed how additive, cascading, and cumulative processes were related and conditioned one another, generating specific life course patterns and outcomes. The findings highlight the value of incorporating molecular genetic information into longitudinal developmental life course research and provide insight into malleable characteristics and appropriate timing for interventions addressing youth developmental characteristics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kandauda A. S. Wickrama
- Department of Human Development and Family Science, The University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, United States of America
| | - Catherine Walker OˋNeal
- Department of Human Development and Family Science, The University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, United States of America
| | - Tae Kyoung Lee
- Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, United States of America
| | - Seonhwa Lee
- Department of Christian Studies, Seoul Women’s University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
- * E-mail:
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Rea-Sandin G, Oro V, Strouse E, Clifford S, Wilson MN, Shaw DS, Lemery-Chalfant K. Educational attainment polygenic score predicts inhibitory control and academic skills in early and middle childhood. Genes Brain Behav 2021; 20:e12762. [PMID: 34318993 PMCID: PMC8549462 DOI: 10.1111/gbb.12762] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2021] [Revised: 07/05/2021] [Accepted: 07/27/2021] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Inhibitory control skills are important for academic outcomes across childhood, but it is unknown whether inhibitory control is implicated in the association between genetic variation and academic performance. This study examined the relationship between a GWAS-based (EduYears) polygenic score indexing educational attainment (EA PGS) and inhibitory control in early (Mage = 3.80 years) and middle childhood (Mage = 9.18 years), and whether inhibitory control in early childhood mediated the relation between EA PGS and academic skills. The sample comprised 731 low-income and racially/ethnically diverse children and their families from the longitudinal early steps multisite study. EA PGS predicted middle childhood inhibitory control (estimate = 0.09, SE = 0.05, p < 0.05) and academic skills (estimate = 0.18, SE = 0.05, p < 0.01) but did not predict early childhood inhibitory control (estimate = 0.08, SE = 0.05, p = 0.11); thus, mediation was not tested. Sensitivity analyses showed that effect sizes were similar across European and African American groups. This study suggests that inhibitory control could serve as a potential mechanism linking genetic differences to educational outcomes.
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Pehkonen J, Viinikainen J, Kari JT, Böckerman P, Lehtimäki T, Raitakari O. Birth weight and adult income: An examination of mediation through adult height and body mass. Health Econ 2021; 30:2383-2398. [PMID: 34250692 DOI: 10.1002/hec.4387] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2020] [Revised: 06/09/2021] [Accepted: 06/21/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
This paper examines the causal links between early human endowments and socioeconomic outcomes in adulthood. We use a genotyped longitudinal survey (Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study) that is linked to the administrative registers of Statistics Finland. We focus on the effect of birth weight on income via two anthropometric mediators: body mass index (BMI) and height in adulthood. We find that (i) the genetic instruments for birth weight, adult height, and adult BMI are statistically powerful; (ii) there is a robust total effect of birth weight on income for men but not for women; (iii) the total effect of birth weight on income for men is partly mediated via height but not via BMI; and (iv) the share of the total effect mediated via height is substantial, of approximately 56%.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jaakko Pehkonen
- Jyväskylä University School of Business and Economics, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - Jutta Viinikainen
- Jyväskylä University School of Business and Economics, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - Jaana T Kari
- Jyväskylä University School of Business and Economics, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - Petri Böckerman
- Jyväskylä University School of Business and Economics, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
- Labour Institute for Economic Research, Helsinki, Finland and IZA, Bonn, Germany
| | - Terho Lehtimäki
- Department of Clinical Chemistry, Finnish Cardiovascular Research Center, Tampere, Finland
- Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
| | - Olli Raitakari
- Centre for Population Health Research, University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland
- Research Centre of Applied and Preventive Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- Department of Clinical Physiology and Nuclear Medicine, Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland
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Hicks BM, Clark DA, Deak JD, Schaefer JD, Liu M, Jang S, Durbin CE, Johnson W, Wilson S, Iacono WG, McGue M, Vrieze SI. Polygenic scores for smoking and educational attainment have independent influences on academic success and adjustment in adolescence and educational attainment in adulthood. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0255348. [PMID: 34403414 PMCID: PMC8370636 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0255348] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2021] [Accepted: 07/14/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Educational success is associated with greater quality of life and depends, in part, on heritable cognitive and non-cognitive traits. We used polygenic scores (PGS) for smoking and educational attainment to examine different genetic influences on facets of academic adjustment in adolescence and educational attainment in adulthood. PGSs were calculated for participants of the Minnesota Twin Family Study (N = 3225) and included as predictors of grades, academic motivation, and discipline problems at ages 11, 14, and 17 years-old, cigarettes per day from ages 14 to 24 years old, and educational attainment in adulthood (mean age 29.4 years). Smoking and educational attainment PGSs had significant incremental associations with each academic variable and cigarettes per day. About half of the adjusted effects of the smoking and education PGSs on educational attainment in adulthood were mediated by the academic variables in adolescence. Cigarettes per day from ages 14 to 24 years old did not account for the effect of the smoking PGS on educational attainment, suggesting the smoking PGS indexes genetic influences related to general behavioral disinhibition. In sum, distinct genetic influences measured by the smoking and educational attainment PGSs contribute to academic adjustment in adolescence and educational attainment in adulthood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian M. Hicks
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States of America
| | - D. Angus Clark
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States of America
| | - Joseph D. Deak
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
- Department of Psychiatry, Veterans Affairs Connecticut Healthcare Center, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Jonathan D. Schaefer
- Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States of America
| | - Mengzhen Liu
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States of America
| | - Seonkyeong Jang
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States of America
| | - C. Emily Durbin
- Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, United States of America
| | - Wendy Johnson
- Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland
| | - Sylia Wilson
- Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States of America
| | - William G. Iacono
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States of America
| | - Matt McGue
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States of America
| | - Scott I. Vrieze
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States of America
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45
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Willoughby EA, McGue M, Iacono WG, Rustichini A, Lee JJ. The role of parental genotype in predicting offspring years of education: evidence for genetic nurture. Mol Psychiatry 2021; 26:3896-3904. [PMID: 31444472 PMCID: PMC7061492 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-019-0494-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2018] [Revised: 06/10/2019] [Accepted: 06/24/2019] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Similarities between parent and offspring are widespread in psychology; however, shared genetic variants often confound causal inference for offspring outcomes. A polygenic score (PGS) derived from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) can be used to test for the presence of parental influence that controls for genetic variants shared across generations. We use a PGS for educational attainment (EA3; N ≈ 750 thousand) to predict offspring years of education in a sample of 2517 twins and both parents. We find that within families, the dizygotic twin with the higher PGS is more likely to attain higher education (unstandardized β = 0.32; p < 0.001). Additionally, however, we find an effect of parental genotype on offspring outcome that is independent of the offspring's own genotype; this raises the variance explained in offspring years of education from 9.3 to 11.1% (∆R2 = 0.018, p < 0.001). Controlling for parental IQ or socioeconomic status substantially attenuated or eliminated this effect of parental genotype. These findings suggest a role of environmental factors affected by heritable characteristics of the parents in fostering offspring years of education.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily A. Willoughby
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, 75 East River Parkway, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Matt McGue
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, 75 East River Parkway, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - William G. Iacono
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, 75 East River Parkway, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Aldo Rustichini
- Department of Economics, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, 1925 Fourth Street South, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - James J. Lee
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, 75 East River Parkway, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
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Kraft P, Kraft B. Explaining socioeconomic disparities in health behaviours: A review of biopsychological pathways involving stress and inflammation. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2021; 127:689-708. [PMID: 34048858 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.05.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2020] [Revised: 04/12/2021] [Accepted: 05/20/2021] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
The purpose of this article was to explore how individuals' position in a socioeconomic hierarchy is related to health behaviours that are related to socioeconomic disparities in health. We identified research which shows that: (a) low socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with living in harsh environments, (b) harsh environments are related to increased levels of stress and inflammation, (c) stress and inflammation impact neural systems involved in self-control by sensitising the impulsive system and desensitising the reflective system, (d) the effects are inflated valuations of small immediate rewards and deflated valuations of larger delayed rewards, (e) these effects are observed as increased delay discounting, and (f) delay discounting is positively associated with practicing more unhealthy behaviours. The results are discussed within an adaptive evolutionary framework which lays out how the stress response system, and its interaction with the immune system and brain systems for decision-making and behaviours, provides the biopsychological mechanisms and regulatory shifts that make widespread conditional adaptability possible. Consequences for policy work, interventions, and future research are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pål Kraft
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1094, Blindern, 0317, Oslo, Norway; Department of Psychology, Bjørknes University College, Lovisenberggata 13, 0456, Oslo, Norway.
| | - Brage Kraft
- Division of Psychiatry, Diakonhjemmet Hospital, P. O. Box 23 Vinderen, 0319, Oslo, Norway.
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47
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Huibregtse BM, Newell-Stamper BL, Domingue BW, Boardman JD. Genes Related to Education Predict Frailty Among Older Adults in the United States. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci 2021; 76:173-183. [PMID: 31362310 DOI: 10.1093/geronb/gbz092] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2018] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE This article expands on research that links education and frailty among older adults by considering the role of genes associated with education. METHOD Data come from a sample of 7,064 non-Hispanic, white adults participating in the 2004-2012 waves of the Health and Retirement Study. Frailty was measured with two indices: (a) The Frailty Index which corresponds to a deficit accumulation model; and (b) The Paulson-Lichtenberg Frailty Index which corresponds to the biological syndrome/phenotype model. Genes associated with education were quantified using an additive polygenic score. Associations between the polygenic score and frailty indices were tested using a series of multilevel models, controlling for multiple observations for participants across waves. RESULTS Results showed a strong and negative association between genes for education and frailty symptoms in later life. This association exists above and beyond years of completed education and we demonstrate that this association becomes weaker as older adults approach their 80s. DISCUSSION The results contribute to the education-health literature by highlighting new and important pathways through which education might be linked to successful aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brooke M Huibregtse
- Institute of Behavioral Science, University of Colorado Boulder.,Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado Boulder
| | - Breanne L Newell-Stamper
- Institute of Behavioral Science, University of Colorado Boulder.,Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado Boulder.,Department of Integrative Physiology, University of Colorado Boulder
| | - Benjamin W Domingue
- Institute of Behavioral Science, University of Colorado Boulder.,Graduate School of Education, Stanford University, California
| | - Jason D Boardman
- Institute of Behavioral Science, University of Colorado Boulder.,Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado Boulder.,Department of Sociology, University of Colorado Boulder
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Genç E, Schlüter C, Fraenz C, Arning L, Metzen D, Nguyen HP, Voelkle MC, Streit F, Güntürkün O, Kumsta R, Ocklenburg S. Polygenic Scores for Cognitive Abilities and Their Association with Different Aspects of General Intelligence-A Deep Phenotyping Approach. Mol Neurobiol 2021; 58:4145-4156. [PMID: 33954905 PMCID: PMC8280022 DOI: 10.1007/s12035-021-02398-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2020] [Accepted: 04/16/2021] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
Intelligence is a highly polygenic trait and genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified thousands of DNA variants contributing with small effects. Polygenic scores (PGS) can aggregate those effects for trait prediction in independent samples. As large-scale light-phenotyping GWAS operationalized intelligence as performance in rather superficial tests, the question arises which intelligence facets are actually captured. We used deep-phenotyping to investigate the molecular determinants of individual differences in cognitive ability. We, therefore, studied the association between PGS of intelligence (IQ-PGS), cognitive performance (CP-PGS), and educational attainment (EA-PGS) with a wide range of intelligence facets in a sample of 557 healthy adults. IQ-PGS, CP-PGS, and EA-PGS had the highest incremental R2s for general (2.71%; 4.27%; 2.06%), verbal (3.30%; 4.64%; 1.61%), and numerical intelligence (3.06%; 3.24%; 1.26%) and the weakest for non-verbal intelligence (0.89%; 1.47%; 0.70%) and memory (0.80%; 1.06%; 0.67%). These results indicate that PGS derived from light-phenotyping GWAS do not reflect different facets of intelligence equally well, and thus should not be interpreted as genetic indicators of intelligence per se. The findings refine our understanding of how PGS are related to other traits or life outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erhan Genç
- Department of Psychology and Neurosciences, Neuroimaging and Interindividual Differences, Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors (IfADo), Dortmund, Germany.
- Department of Biopsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany.
| | - Caroline Schlüter
- Department of Biopsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Christoph Fraenz
- Department of Psychology and Neurosciences, Neuroimaging and Interindividual Differences, Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors (IfADo), Dortmund, Germany
- Department of Biopsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Larissa Arning
- Department of Human Genetics, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Dorothea Metzen
- Department of Biopsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Huu Phuc Nguyen
- Department of Human Genetics, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Manuel C Voelkle
- Department of Psychological Research Methods, Institute of Psychology, Humboldt University Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Fabian Streit
- Department of Genetic Epidemiology in Psychiatry, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Onur Güntürkün
- Department of Biopsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Robert Kumsta
- Department of Genetic Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Sebastian Ocklenburg
- Department of Biopsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
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Wertz J, Caspi A, Ambler A, Broadbent J, Hancox RJ, Harrington H, Hogan S, Houts RM, Leung JH, Poulton R, Purdy SC, Ramrakha S, Rasmussen LJH, Richmond-Rakerd LS, Thorne PR, Wilson GA, Moffitt TE. Association of History of Psychopathology With Accelerated Aging at Midlife. JAMA Psychiatry 2021; 78:530-539. [PMID: 33595619 PMCID: PMC7890535 DOI: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2020.4626] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
IMPORTANCE Individuals with mental disorders are at an elevated risk of developing chronic age-related physical diseases. However, it is not clear whether psychopathology is also associated with processes of accelerated aging that precede the onset of age-related disease. OBJECTIVE To test the hypothesis that a history of psychopathology is associated with indicators of accelerated aging at midlife. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This prospective cohort study was based on the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study, a population-representative birth cohort of 1037 individuals born between April 1, 1972, and March 31, 1973, in Dunedin, New Zealand. Members were followed up to age 45 years (until April 2019). Data were analyzed from January 6 to December 7, 2020. EXPOSURES Mental disorders were assessed in 6 diagnostic assessments from ages 18 to 45 years and transformed through confirmatory factor analysis into continuous measures of general psychopathology (p-factor) and dimensions of internalizing, externalizing, and thought disorders (all standardized to a mean [SD] of 100 [15]). MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Signs of aging (biological pace of aging; declines in sensory, motor, and cognitive functioning; and facial age) were assessed up to age 45 years using previously validated measures including biomarkers, clinical tests, and self-reports. RESULTS Of the original 1037 cohort participants, 997 were still alive at age 45 years, of whom 938 (94%) were assessed (474 men [50.5%]). Participants who had experienced more psychopathology exhibited a faster pace of biological aging (β, 0.27; 95% CI, 0.21-0.33; P < .01); experienced more difficulties with hearing (β, 0.18; 95% CI, 0.12-0.24; P < .01), vision (β, 0.08; 95% CI, 0.01-0.14; P < .05), balance (β, 0.20; 95% CI, 0.14-0.26; P < .01), and motor functioning (β, 0.19; 95% CI, 0.12-0.25; P < .01); experienced more cognitive difficulties (β, 0.24; 95% CI, 0.18-0.31; P < .01); and were rated as looking older (β, 0.20; 95% CI, 0.14-0.26; P < .01). Associations persisted after controlling for sex, childhood health indicators, maltreatment, and socioeconomic status and after taking into account being overweight, smoking, use of antipsychotic medication, and the presence of physical disease. Tests of diagnostic specificity revealed that associations were generalizable across externalizing, internalizing, and thought disorders. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE In this cohort study, a history of psychopathology was associated with accelerated aging at midlife, years before the typical onset of age-related diseases. This link is not specific to any particular disorder family but generalizes across disorders. Prevention of psychopathology and monitoring of individuals with mental disorders for signs of accelerated aging may have the potential to reduce health inequalities and extend healthy lives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jasmin Wertz
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
| | - Avshalom Caspi
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina,Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom,Center for Genomic and Computational Biology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina,Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina,Promenta Research Center, University of Oslo, Norway
| | - Antony Ambler
- Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom,Department of Psychology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | | | - Robert J. Hancox
- Department of Preventive & Social Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - HonaLee Harrington
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
| | - Sean Hogan
- Department of Psychology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Renate M. Houts
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
| | - Joan H. Leung
- School of Psychology, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Richie Poulton
- Department of Psychology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Suzanne C. Purdy
- School of Psychology, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand,Centre for Brain Research, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand,Eisdell Moore Centre for Hearing and Balance Research, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Sandhya Ramrakha
- Department of Psychology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Line Jee Hartmann Rasmussen
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina,Department of Clinical Research, Copenhagen University Hospital, Hvidovre, Denmark
| | | | - Peter R. Thorne
- School of Psychology, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand,Centre for Brain Research, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand,Eisdell Moore Centre for Hearing and Balance Research, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Graham A. Wilson
- Department of Psychology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Terrie E. Moffitt
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina,Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom,Center for Genomic and Computational Biology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina,Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina,Promenta Research Center, University of Oslo, Norway
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50
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Sabatello M, Insel BJ, Corbeil T, Link BG, Appelbaum PS. The double helix at school: Behavioral genetics, disability, and precision education. Soc Sci Med 2021; 278:113924. [PMID: 33895581 DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.113924] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Revised: 03/17/2021] [Accepted: 04/08/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
The prospect of using behavioral genetic data in schools is gaining momentum in the U.S., with some scholars advocating for the tailoring of educational interventions to students' genetic makeup ("precision education"). Public perspectives on testing for and using behavioral genetic data in schools can affect policies but are unknown. We explored public views in the U.S. (n = 419) on key issues in precision education. The introduction of a child's behavioral genetic information regarding Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity-Disorder was associated with beliefs that such data should be considered in educational planning for the child and increased medicalization, but also a belief in treatment efficacy. Most participants expressed interest in learning about children's behavioral genetic predispositions but would disapprove of testing without parental consent. Differences by participants' race, ethnicity and educational attainment were observed. Our findings indicate the public's complex understanding of genetic information and the challenges for wide implementation of precision education in the U.S.
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