Abstract
The development of problem behavior in children is associated with exposure to environmental factors, including the maternal environment. Both are influenced by genetic factors, which may also be correlated, that is, environmental risk and problem behavior in children might be influenced by partly the same genetic factors. In addition, environmental and genetic factors could interact with each other increasing the risk of problem behavior in children. To date, limited research investigated these mechanisms in a genome‐wide approach. Therefore, the goal of this study was to investigate the association between genetic risk for psychiatric and related traits, as indicated by polygenetic risk scores (PRSs), exposure to previously identified maternal risk factors, and problem behavior in a sample of 1,154 children from the Amsterdam Born Children and their Development study at ages 5–6 and 11–12 years old. The PRSs were derived from genome‐wide association studies (GWASs) on schizophrenia, major depressive disorder, neuroticism, and wellbeing. Regression analysis showed that the PRSs were associated with exposure to multiple environmental risk factors, suggesting passive gene–environment correlation. In addition, the PRS based on the schizophrenia GWAS was associated with externalizing behavior problems in children at age 5–6. We did not find any association with problem behavior for the other PRSs. Our results indicate that genetic predispositions for psychiatric disorders and wellbeing are associated with early environmental risk factors for children's problem behavior.
Highlights
Longitudinal studies that followed children from pregnancy onward have consistently shown that exposure to maternal prenatal adverse environmental factors is associated with the development of cognitive, externalizing, and internalizing problems in children
Our study investigated the associations between polygenetic and environmental risk factors and the development of internalizing and externalizing problems in children aged 5–6 and 11–12 years old
Our results confirm that prenatal and childhood maternal environmental risk are associated with the development of problem behavior in childhood
Summary
Longitudinal studies that followed children from pregnancy onward have consistently shown that exposure to maternal prenatal adverse environmental factors is associated with the development of cognitive, externalizing, and internalizing problems in children. Exposure to maternal smoking during pregnancy, use of alcohol during pregnancy, maternal age at gestation, and high rates of anxiety and distress in the mother are related to adverse outcomes later in childhood (Buss, Davis, Hobel, & Sandman, 2011; Loomans et al, 2011; MacKinnon, Kingsbury, Mahedy, Evans, & Colman, 2018; Madigan et al, 2018; O'connor, Heron, Golding, & Glover, 2003; Van den Bergh, Van Calster, Smits, Van Huffel, & Lagae, 2008) Besides exposure to these adverse environmental risk factors, genetic risk is associated with the development of problem behavior in childhood. A GxE effect can be observed erroneously if rGE is present but not taken into account (Rutter, Moffitt, & Caspi, 2006)
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