Article
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Karsten Ovretveit, Emma M. L. Ingestrom, Michail Spitieris, Vinicius Tragante, Kaitlin H. Wade, Laurent F. Thomas, Brooke N. Wolford, Ulrik Wisloff, Daniel F. Gudbjartsson, Hilma Holm, Kari Stefansson, Ben M. Brumpton, Kristian Hveem
Summary: This study examines the polygenic risk of hypertension in children and adults, and finds that genetic risk factors for blood pressure start affecting individuals from early life. These findings help identify high-risk individuals, enable primordial prevention, and reduce the burden of this public health challenge.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PREVENTIVE CARDIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Aashita Batra, Lawrence M. M. Chen, Zihan Wang, Carine Parent, Irina Pokhvisneva, Sachin Patel, Robert D. D. Levitan, Michael J. J. Meaney, Patricia Pelufo Silveira
Summary: The study reveals that genetic background moderates the impact of early adversity on childhood impulsivity, with specific genes showing significant association with nervous system development and cognitive decline.
FRONTIERS IN NEUROSCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Tianyuan Lu, Vincenzo Forgetta, Haoyu Wu, John R. B. Perry, Ken K. Ong, Celia M. T. Greenwood, Nicholas J. Timpson, Despoina Manousaki, J. Brent Richards
Summary: A polygenic risk score capturing 71.1% of the total variance in adult height in the UK Biobank and identifying children with short stature with an AUROC of 0.84 in the ALSPAC cohort shows potential as an alternative or adjunct to mid-parental height for screening children at risk of developing short stature in adulthood in European ancestry populations. Combining the polygenic risk score with mid-parental height or one parent's height can further improve its predictive ability.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL ENDOCRINOLOGY & METABOLISM
(2021)
Article
Psychology, Developmental
Gabriel L. Schlomer, Qi Sun
Summary: Recent research applying life history theory to human development has found that the early environment's harshness and unpredictability are key influencers of life history strategies, particularly in terms of age at menarche and age at first sexual intercourse. Data analysis has shown that harshness, unpredictability, and age at menarche indirectly impact the number of sexual partners through age at first sexual intercourse.
DEVELOPMENT AND PSYCHOPATHOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biology
Laura Katharine Hayward, Guy Sella
Summary: Polygenic adaptation is a process that occurs when the fitness optimum of a quantitative trait experiences a sudden shift. The process is influenced by the effect sizes of loci contributing to trait variance. The dynamics of allele frequencies can be divided into two phases: a rapid phase driven by directional selection and a longer phase governed by stabilizing selection. This research has important implications for identifying the genetic basis of adaptation in humans and other species.
Article
Hematology
Tom G. Richardson, Katie O'Nunain, Caroline L. Relton, George Davey Smith
Summary: This study demonstrates the potential of polygenic risk scores in stratifying individuals based on cardiovascular traits and biomarkers. The findings highlight the predictive power of these scores in early detection of complex trait variations.
ARTERIOSCLEROSIS THROMBOSIS AND VASCULAR BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Psychology, Developmental
Lydia Gabriela Speyer, Samuel Neaves, Hildigunnur Anna Hall, Gibran Hemani, Michael Vincent Lombardo, Aja Louise Murray, Bonnie Auyeung, Michelle Luciano
Summary: This study investigated the joint developmental trajectories of internalizing and externalizing problems using parallel process latent class growth analysis, identifying five classes ranging from unaffected to high internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Results showed that affected classes were distinguishable from the unaffected class based on factors such as sex, maternal age, maternal mental health, and child polygenic risk scores. Additionally, phenotypic and polygenic predictors had limited ability to differentiate between different affected classes, suggesting shared risk factors for internalizing and externalizing problems.
JOURNAL OF CHILD PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHIATRY
(2022)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Jessica M. Armitage, R. Adele H. Wang, Oliver S. P. Davis, Claire M. A. Haworth
Summary: Research shows that peer victimisation and genetic factors can independently predict depressive symptoms and wellbeing in early adulthood. However, the decrease in mental health and wellbeing following victimisation cannot be solely attributed to the moderating effect of genetic factors at present.
Article
Neurosciences
Nikolaos P. Daskalakis, Laura M. Schultz, Elina Visoki, Tyler M. Moore, Stirling T. Argabright, Nathaniel G. Harnett, Grace E. DiDomenico, Varun Warrier, Laura Almasy, Ran Barzilay
Summary: Suicidal ideation and attempts are complex behaviors driven by environmental stress, genetic susceptibility, and their interaction. The study found that preadolescent suicidality is influenced by genetic stress susceptibility, and environmental stressors are closely associated with suicidality, indicating the impact of both genetic and environmental factors on suicidality.
NEUROBIOLOGY OF STRESS
(2021)
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Mohamed Abdulkadir, Christopher Hubel, Moritz Herle, Ruth J. F. Loos, Gerome Breen, Cynthia M. Bulik, Nadia Micali
Summary: Deviation from normal growth trajectories during childhood is associated with anorexia nervosa (AN) and obesity later in life. This study examined the relationship between polygenic scores for AN and BMI and growth trajectories in the first two decades of life. The results show that AN PGS and BMI PGS have detectable sex-specific effects on growth. Female participants with high AN PGS and low BMI PGS are at a higher risk for AN, as their growth was slower compared to their peers with high PGSs on both traits.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF HUMAN GENETICS
(2022)
Article
Psychology, Developmental
Alex S. F. Kwong, Tim T. Morris, Rebecca M. Pearson, Nicholas J. Timpson, Frances Rice, Evie Stergiakouli, Kate Tilling
Summary: Higher polygenic risk scores for depression, major depressive disorder, and neuroticism were consistently associated with worse depressive symptoms and steeper trajectories of depressive symptoms throughout adolescence and into young adulthood. However, the evidence for anxiety and schizophrenia polygenic risk scores was less consistent in cross-sectional analysis, with some evidence for increasing rate of change in adolescence in growth-curve analyses with the anxiety polygenic risk score.
JOURNAL OF CHILD PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHIATRY
(2021)
Article
Psychology, Developmental
Gabriel L. Schlomer, Kristine Marceau
Summary: Father absence is associated with earlier age at menarche, with both genetic and environmental factors potentially influencing this association. This study aimed to replicate and expand previous genomic research on this topic, using a prospective longitudinal cohort study. The findings showed that a polygenic score could not explain the father absence/AAM association, and there was no interaction between father absence and the polygenic score. However, results regarding LIN28B largely replicated previous work, showing that LIN28B variants predicted later age at menarche in girls with a present father, but this effect was absent or reversed in girls with a absent father.
DEVELOPMENT AND PSYCHOPATHOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Substance Abuse
Kellyn M. Spychala, Ian R. Gizer, Christal N. Davis, Genevieve F. Dash, Thomas M. Piasecki, Wendy S. Slutske
Summary: The study found that polygenic scores for agreeableness and neuroticism predict the severity of disordered gambling, with the latter interacting with age to affect the symptoms of gambling disorder.
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Yingdan Tang, Dongfang You, Honggang Yi, Sheng Yang, Yang Zhao
Summary: This study developed a new gene prediction model called iPRS, which can improve the prediction performance of disease risk and the accuracy of risk stratification by considering gene-environment interactions. The superiority of the iPRS model was validated through simulations and real data analysis.
FRONTIERS IN GENETICS
(2022)
Article
Pediatrics
Sarah L. N. Clarke, Hannah J. Jones, Gemma C. Sharp, Kayleigh E. Easey, Alun D. Hughes, Athimalaipet Ramanan, Caroline L. Relton
Summary: This study found that genetic risk for JIA is associated with multiple cardiovascular risk factors, supporting the hypothesis of increased cardiovascular risk in JIA. The findings suggest that cardiovascular risk is a core feature of JIA, rather than secondary to the disease activity/treatment, and that cardiovascular risk counseling should be included in patient care.
PEDIATRIC RHEUMATOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Psychology, Clinical
Richard Pender, Pasco Fearon, Beate St Pourcain, Jon Heron, Will Mandy
Summary: Autistic individuals show diverse trajectories of autistic traits over time, with some experiencing an intensification of difficulties during adolescence accompanied by mood, anxiety, conduct, and attention problems, while others show a decrease in social difficulties during adolescence. This study investigated the nature and clinical significance of autism trait chronogeneity in a large, general population sample.
PSYCHOLOGICAL MEDICINE
(2023)
Article
Psychology, Developmental
Jan Stochl, Hannah Jones, Emma Soneson, Adam P. Wagner, Golam M. Khandaker, Stanley Zammit, Jon Heron, Gemma Hammerton, Edward T. Bullmore, Ray Dolan, Peter Fonagy, Ian M. Goodyer, J. Perez, Peter B. Jones
Summary: Characterizing patterns of mental phenomena in epidemiological studies of adolescents can provide insight into the latent organization of psychiatric disorders. This avoids the biases of chronicity and selection inherent in clinical samples, guides models of shared aetiology within psychiatric disorders and informs the development and implementation of interventions.
EUROPEAN CHILD & ADOLESCENT PSYCHIATRY
(2023)
Article
Psychology, Clinical
K. J. S. Lewis, K. Tilling, K. Gordon-Smith, K. E. A. Saunders, A. Di Florio, L. Jones, I Jones, M. C. O'Donovan, J. Heron
Summary: This study examined the longitudinal relationships between sleep and mood in individuals with bipolar disorder. The results showed bidirectional relationships between insomnia and depressive symptoms, but weak support for bidirectional relationships between insomnia and (hypo)manic symptoms. The strength of these associations varied depending on age, gender, bipolar subtype, and history of rapid cycling.
PSYCHOLOGICAL MEDICINE
(2023)
Article
Psychology, Clinical
Amanda Ly, Jon Heron, Dheeraj Rai, Caroline Wright
Summary: This study found that the presence of certain autistic traits has differentiated effects on patterns of engagement in multiple risk behaviors. These findings may reflect difficulties in fitting in and coping mechanisms related to these difficulties.
PSYCHOLOGICAL MEDICINE
(2023)
Article
Criminology & Penology
Annie Herbert, Abigail Fraser, Laura D. Howe, Eszter Szilassy, Maria Barnes, Gene Feder, Christine Barter, Jon Heron
Summary: In this study, categories of different types and frequencies of IPVA victimization were found to be associated with differential rates of negative impact and perpetration. This is consistent with emerging evidence of IPVA differentiation and its variable impact in other populations.
JOURNAL OF INTERPERSONAL VIOLENCE
(2023)
Article
Psychology, Developmental
Alice Stephens, Judith Allardyce, Bryony Weavers, Jessica Lennon, Rhys Bevan Jones, Victoria Powell, Olga Eyre, Robert Potter, Valentina Escott Price, David Osborn, Anita Thapar, Stephan Collishaw, Ajay Thapar, Jon Heron, Frances Rice
Summary: A risk prediction model was developed to successfully discriminate adolescents who developed major depressive disorder (MDD) from those who did not. The model could be further developed into a tool to target individuals for low-intensity, selective preventive intervention.
JOURNAL OF CHILD PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHIATRY
(2023)
Article
Psychology, Developmental
Naomi Warne, Jon Heron, Becky Mars, Francesca Solmi, Lucy Biddle, David Gunnell, Gemma Hammerton, Paul Moran, Marcus Munafo, Ian Penton-Voak, Andy Skinner, Anne Stewart, Helen Bould
Summary: This study found that emotional dysregulation in childhood is associated with disordered eating and self-harm in adolescence, and that social cognition plays a key role in mediating these relationships. These findings suggest that targeting emotional dysregulation may be important for prevention and treatment of these behaviors.
JOURNAL OF CHILD PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHIATRY
(2023)
Article
Psychology, Developmental
Iryna Culpin, Gemma Hammerton, Alan Stein, Marc H. Bornstein, Henning Tiemeier, Tim Cadman, Eivor Fredriksen, Jonathan Evans, Tina Miller, Esther Dermott, Jon Heron, Hannah M. Sallis, Rebecca M. Pearson
Summary: The present study suggests that the adverse effects of maternal postnatal depression on child development cannot be explained by various aspects of paternal involvement. Only father-child conflict has been identified as a risk factor for adverse child development and as a mediator in the association between maternal postnatal depression and child development. If found causal, interventions that reduce father-child conflict may improve developmental outcomes of children of mothers with postnatal depression.
DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Psychology, Developmental
Naomi Warne, Jon Heron, Alexander von Gontard, Carol Joinson
Summary: Emotional/behaviour problems and exposure to stressful life events are associated with new onset of urinary incontinence (UI) in children who have attained bladder control. Separation anxiety symptoms are strongly linked to new-onset UI, and girls experiencing more stressful life events are at higher risk of UI.
EUROPEAN CHILD & ADOLESCENT PSYCHIATRY
(2023)
Article
Pediatrics
Kirsty Bowman, Tim Cadman, Ana Goncalves Soares, Oliver Robinson, Amanda Hughes, Jon Heron, Alexa Blair Segal, Maria Carmen Huerta, Laura D. Howe
Summary: This study examines the association between BMI and educational attainment and finds that in females, externalizing behaviors are a major mediator of the negative impact of BMI on educational achievement, while in males there is no significant mediation effect. Therefore, supporting behavioral problems may help improve the academic performance of overweight children.
Article
Psychiatry
Eesha Sharma, G. S. Ravi, Keshav Kumar, Kandavel Thennarasu, Jon Heron, Matthew Hickman, Nilakshi Vaidya, Bharath Holla, Madhavi Rangaswamy, Urvakhsh Meherwan Mehta, Murali Krishna, Amit Chakrabarti, Debashish Basu, Subodh Bhagyalakshmi Nanjayya, Rajkumar Lenin Singh, Roshan Lourembam, Kalyanaraman Kumaran, Rebecca Kuriyan, Sunita Simon Kurpad, Kamakshi Kartik, Kartik Kalyanram, Sylvane Desrivieres, Gareth Barker, Dimitri Papadopoulos Orfanos, Mireille Toledano, Meera Purushottam, Rose Dawn Bharath, Pratima Murthy, Sanjeev Jain, Gunter Schumann, Vivek Benegal
Summary: This study is based on the cVEDA study, which assessed cognitive abilities in over 8000 individuals aged 6-23 years in India. The findings suggest that both executive and social cognitive abilities continue to develop into adulthood. Developmental trajectories showed maturation and stabilization in increasing order of complexity, from working memory to inhibitory control to cognitive flexibility. Wealth index had the largest influence on developmental change, while sex differences were prominent in certain cognitive abilities and childhood adversity had a negative influence.
ASIAN JOURNAL OF PSYCHIATRY
(2023)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Nilakshi Vaidya, Bharath Holla, Jon Heron, Eesha Sharma, Yuning Zhang, Gwen Fernandes, Udita Iyengar, Alex Spiers, Anupa Yadav, Surajit Das, Sanjit Roy, Chirag K. Ahuja, Gareth J. Barker, Debasish Basu, Rose Dawn Bharath, Matthew Hickman, Sanjeev Jain, Kartik Kalyanram, Kamakshi Kartik, Murali Krishna, Ghattu Krishnaveni, Kalyanaraman Kumaran, Rebecca Kuriyan, Pratima Murthy, Dimitri Papadopoulos Orfanos, Meera Purushottam, Sunita Simon Kurpad, Lenin Singh, Roshan Singh, B. N. Subodh, Mireille Toledano, Henrik Walter, Sylvane Desrivieres, Amit Chakrabarti, Vivek Benegal, Gunter Schumann
Summary: This cohort study shows that low-level arsenic exposure is associated with impairments in executive function and has characterized the underlying brain mechanisms. These impairments are exacerbated by risk factors such as poor nutrition and poverty. The study calls for reexamination of safe levels of arsenic exposure and suggests improvements in nutrition and socioeconomic conditions as potential ways to mitigate the harmful consequences.
Article
Psychology, Developmental
Mallory Stephenson, Jon Heron, Kaitlin Bountress, Matthew Hickman, Kenneth S. S. Kendler, Alexis C. C. Edwards
Summary: This study examines the effects of parental alcohol consumption on adolescent and young adult children, finding that parental drinking indirectly contributes to the development of alcohol use disorder (AUD) in young adulthood, primarily through adolescent alcohol consumption. These findings underscore the importance of parental drinking in the development of alcohol use and problems during adolescence and young adulthood.
JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENCE
(2023)
Article
Psychology, Clinical
Maria Barnes, Christine Barter, Annie Herbert, Jon Heron, Gene Feder, Eszter Szilassy
Summary: Young people are at a higher risk of experiencing intimate partner violence and abuse (IPVA), which can have severe impacts on their health and well-being. It is important to understand effective responses to IPVA among different groups, as young people often do not seek adult support services.
JOURNAL OF FAMILY VIOLENCE
(2023)
Article
Psychiatry
C. Prince, C. Joinson, A. S. F. Kwong, A. Fraser, J. Heron
Summary: This study found that early menarche was associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms at age 14 but the association attenuated at 24 years. Late menarche, on the other hand, was associated with lower levels of depressive symptoms at age 14 but this association also attenuated at 24 years.
EPIDEMIOLOGY AND PSYCHIATRIC SCIENCES
(2023)