Gene-environment interaction using polygenic scores: Do polygenic scores for psychopathology moderate predictions from environmental risk to behavior problems?

TY - JOUR

T1 - Gene-environment interaction using polygenic scores

T2 - Do polygenic scores for psychopathology moderate predictions from environmental risk to behavior problems?

AU - Plomin, Robert

AU - Gidziela, Agnieszka

AU - Malanchini, Margherita

AU - Von Stumm, Sophie

N1 - Funding Information: We gratefully acknowledge the ongoing contribution of the participants in the Twins Early Development Study (TEDS) and their families. TEDS has been supported by a program grant to R.P. from the UK Medical Research Council (MR/M021475/1 and previously G0901245), with additional support from the US National Institutes of Health (AG046938) and the European Commission (602768; 295366). This work was supported by a Nuffield Foundation award (EDO/44110) to S.v.S, who is a recipient of a British Academy Mid-Career Fellowship (MF21\210017). Publisher Copyright: © 2022 Cambridge University Press. All rights reserved.

PY - 2022/12/23

Y1 - 2022/12/23

N2 - The DNA revolution has energized research on interactions between genes and environments (GxE) by creating indices of G (polygenic scores) that are powerful predictors of behavioral traits. Here, we test the extent to which polygenic scores for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and neuroticism moderate associations between parent reports of their children's environmental risk (E) at ages 3 and 4 and teacher ratings of behavior problems (hyperactivity/inattention, conduct problems, emotional symptoms, and peer relationship problems) at ages 7, 9 and 12. The sampling frame included up to 6687 twins from the Twins Early Development Study. Our analyses focused on relative effect sizes of G, E and GxE in predicting behavior problems. G, E and GxE predicted up to 2%, 2% and 0.4%, respectively, of the variance in externalizing behavior problems (hyperactivity/inattention and conduct problems) across ages 7, 9 and 12, with no clear developmental trends. G and E predictions of emotional symptoms and peer relationship problems were weaker. A quarter (12 of 48) of our tests of GxE were nominally significant (p =.05). Increasing the predictive power of G and E would enhance the search for GxE.

AB - The DNA revolution has energized research on interactions between genes and environments (GxE) by creating indices of G (polygenic scores) that are powerful predictors of behavioral traits. Here, we test the extent to which polygenic scores for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and neuroticism moderate associations between parent reports of their children's environmental risk (E) at ages 3 and 4 and teacher ratings of behavior problems (hyperactivity/inattention, conduct problems, emotional symptoms, and peer relationship problems) at ages 7, 9 and 12. The sampling frame included up to 6687 twins from the Twins Early Development Study. Our analyses focused on relative effect sizes of G, E and GxE in predicting behavior problems. G, E and GxE predicted up to 2%, 2% and 0.4%, respectively, of the variance in externalizing behavior problems (hyperactivity/inattention and conduct problems) across ages 7, 9 and 12, with no clear developmental trends. G and E predictions of emotional symptoms and peer relationship problems were weaker. A quarter (12 of 48) of our tests of GxE were nominally significant (p =.05). Increasing the predictive power of G and E would enhance the search for GxE.

KW - behavior problems

KW - genotype-environment interaction

KW - polygenic scores

KW - twins

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85145194658&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1017/S0954579422000931

DO - 10.1017/S0954579422000931

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85145194658

SN - 0954-5794

VL - 34

SP - 1816

EP - 1826

JO - Development and psychopathology

JF - Development and psychopathology

IS - 5

ER -