A genetically informed Registered Report on adverse childhood experiences and mental healthMRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit at the University of Bristol, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK; Division of Psychiatry, Edinburgh Medical School, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
CNCR, Amsterdam Neuroscience Campus, VU University, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, London, UK.
Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit at the University of Bristol, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK; Department of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK; National and Specialist CAMHS Trauma, Anxiety, and Depression Clinic, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.
Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, London, UK; Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families, London, UK.
Psychology Department, Faculty of Social Sciences, Anton de Kom University, Paramaribo, Suriname.
Gillberg Neuropsychiatry Centre, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden; Centre for Ethics, Law and Mental Health (CELAM), Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit at the University of Bristol, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK; School of Psychological Science, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK; NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust and University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, London, UK; Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.
Show others and affiliations
2023 (English)In: Nature Human Behaviour, E-ISSN 2397-3374, Vol. 7, no 2, p. 269-290Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Children who experience adversities have an elevated risk of mental health problems. However, the extent to which adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) cause mental health problems remains unclear, as previous associations may partly reflect genetic confounding. In this Registered Report, we used DNA from 11,407 children from the United Kingdom and the United States to investigate gene-environment correlations and genetic confounding of the associations between ACEs and mental health. Regarding gene-environment correlations, children with higher polygenic scores for mental health problems had a small increase in odds of ACEs. Regarding genetic confounding, elevated risk of mental health problems in children exposed to ACEs was at least partially due to pre-existing genetic risk. However, some ACEs (such as childhood maltreatment and parental mental illness) remained associated with mental health problems independent of genetic confounding. These findings suggest that interventions addressing heritable psychiatric vulnerabilities in children exposed to ACEs may help reduce their risk of mental health problems.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Nature Publishing Group, 2023. Vol. 7, no 2, p. 269-290
National Category
Psychiatry
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:oru:diva-102663DOI: 10.1038/s41562-022-01482-9ISI: 000895592600001PubMedID: 36482079Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85143612136OAI: oai:DiVA.org:oru-102663DiVA, id: diva2:1718544
Funder
Wellcome trust, 102215/2/13/2
Note
Funding agencies:
UK Research & Innovation (UKRI)
Medical Research Council UK (MRC)
University of Bristol
United States Department of Health & Human Services
National Institutes of Health (NIH) - USA U01DA041048 U01DA050989 U01DA051016 U01DA041022 U01DA051018 U01DA051037 U01DA050987 U01DA041174 U01DA041106 U01DA041117 U01DA041028 U01DA041134 U01DA050988 U01DA051039 U01DA041156 U01DA041025 U01DA041120 U01DA051038 U01DA041148 U01DA041093 U01DA041089 U24DA041123 U24DA041147
2022-12-132022-12-132024-04-08Bibliographically approved