“Single-Nucleotide Polymorphism Heritability of a General Psychopathology Factor in Children”, 2016-12-01 (; similar):
Objective: Co-occurrence of mental disorders is commonly observed, but the etiology underlying this observation is poorly understood. Studies in adolescents and adults have identified a general psychopathology factor associated with a high risk for different psychiatric disorders. We defined a multi-informant general psychopathology factor in school-aged children and estimated its single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) heritability. The goal was to test the hypothesis that child behavioral and emotional problems are under the influence of highly pleiotropic common autosomal genetic variants that non-specifically increase the risk for different dimensions of psychopathology.
Method: Children from the Generation R cohort were repeatedly assessed between ages 6 to 8 years. Child behavior problems were reported by parents, teachers, and children. Confirmatory factor analysis estimated a general psychopathology factor across informants using various psychiatric problem scales. Validation of the general psychopathology factor was based on IQ and temperamental measures. Genome-wide complex trait analysis (GCTA) was used to estimate the SNP heritability (n = 2,115).
Results: The general psychopathology factor was associated with lower IQ, higher negative affectivity, and lower effortful control, but not with surgency. Importantly, the general psychopathology factor showed a statistically-significant SNP heritability of 38% (SE = 0.16, p = 0.008).
Conclusion: Common autosomal SNPs are pleiotropically associated with internalizing, externalizing, and other child behavior problems, and underlie a general psychopathology factor in childhood.
[Keywords: child behavior, psychopathology, comorbidity, genetic pleiotropy, SNP heritability]