Abstract
A widely replicated finding across the behavioral sciences is that antisocial behaviors correlate with an array of health problems. Less clear, however, is the precise nature of this association. There is reason to suspect that a direct causal link exists between incarceration—a consequence of some antisocial behaviors—and certain negative health outcomes, for instance. However, it might be the case that broader phenotypes like antisocial behavior may correlate with certain health and physiological traits at a genomic level. We explore this possibility from a theoretical vantage point, while also presenting some preliminary data from existing secondary sources. Tentatively, no significant genetic correlations emerged across a host of health, physiological, and wellbeing outcomes after correction for multiple testing. However, more work is needed exploring this topic. We propose that future studies should make use of larger, more diverse samples and examine the genetic overlap between homogeneous clusters of antisocial behavioral subtypes and disease traits or symptoms.
Highlights
Prior research has produced well-replicated associations between various health maladies and a range of antisocial behaviors (ASB) [1,2,3,4]
This brief report represents our first exploration examining the genetic overlap of antisocial behavior, utilizing combined summary data from two consortia [for more detail, see Pappa et al [22], Tielbeek et al [25]] with 71 traits derived from the centralized database LD Hub [26]
There are a host of health, physiological, and disease relevant outcomes correlated across numerous prior studies with ASB
Summary
Prior research has produced well-replicated associations between various health maladies (both psychological and medical) and a range of antisocial behaviors (ASB) [1,2,3,4]. While the evidence regarding phenotypic correlation seems clear, less apparent is whether some covariance between ASB and health indicators exists at a genomic level [11] This becomes possible owing to several reasons, including but not limited to the diffuse heritability of quantitative human traits, as well as arguments made regarding the possibility of “omnigenic” influences in nature [12, 13]. Work in the area is growing, and to address the power problems (as well as other previous limitations), several consortia were formed combining several datasets in order to increase efficiency of research in this area Examples of these far-reaching collaborations studying the genetics of ASB include: ACTION (Aggression in Children: Unraveling gene–environment interplay to inform Treatment and InterventION strategies), the Agressotype consortium, BroadABC (Broad Antisocial Behavior Consortium) and EAGLE (Early Genetics and Lifecourse Epidemiology). In a study using a similar research design we found preliminary support for a genetic correlation of ASB with lifetime cannabis use and cigarettes per day, but not with weekly alcohol consumption or ever smoking [24]
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