Genetic and Environmental Causes of Individual Differences in Borderline Personality Disorder Features and Loneliness are Partially Shared

Julie Aitken Schermer; Lucía Colodro-Conde; Katrina L. Grasby; Ian B. Hickie; Jane Burns; Lannie Ligthart; Gonneke Willemsen; Timothy J. Trull; Nicholas G. Martin; Dorret I. Boomsma

doi:10.1017/thg.2020.62

Genetic and Environmental Causes of Individual Differences in Borderline Personality Disorder Features and Loneliness are Partially Shared

Julie Aitken Schermer
, Lucía Colodro-Conde
, Katrina L. Grasby
, Ian B. Hickie
, Jane Burns
, Lannie Ligthart
, Gonneke Willemsen
, Timothy J. Trull
, Nicholas G. Martin
, Dorret I. Boomsma

Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

Loneliness is related to mental and somatic health outcomes, including borderline personality disorder. Here, we analyze the sources of variation that are responsible for the relationship between borderline personality features (including four dimensions, affective instability, identity disturbance, negative relationships, self-harm and a total score) and loneliness. Using genetically informative data from two large nonclinical samples of adult twin pairs from Australia and the Netherlands (N = 11,329), we estimate the phenotypic, genetic and environmental correlations between self-reported borderline personality features and loneliness. Individual differences in borderline personality and loneliness were best explained by additive genetic factors with heritability estimates h2 = 41% for the borderline personality total score and h2 = 36% for loneliness, with the remaining variation explained by environmental influences that were not shared by twins from the same pair. Genetic and environmental factors influencing borderline personality (total score and four subscales separately) were also partial causes of loneliness. The correlation between loneliness and the borderline personality total score was rph = .51. The genetic correlation was estimated at rg = .64 and the environmental correlation at re = .40. Our study suggests common etiological factors in loneliness and borderline personality features.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	214-220
Number of pages	7
Journal	Twin research and human genetics : the official journal of the International Society for Twin Studies
Volume	23
Issue number	4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1017/thg.2020.62
Publication status	Published - Aug 2020

Funding

NTR warmly thanks all twin families and would like to acknowledge the National Institutes of Health (NIH, R37 AG033590-08 to J Cacioppo), NWO-Groot 480-15-001/674: Netherlands Twin Registry Repository; the Avera Institute for Human Genetics, Sioux Falls, South Dakota (USA) for zygosity assessment and the Amsterdam Public Health (APH) research institute. DIB acknowledges her Royal Netherlands Academy of Science Professor Award (KNAW PAH/6635). LC-C is supported by a QIMR Berghofer fellowship. IBH is supported by a NHMRC Australia Fellowship (No. 511921). QIMRB warmly thank the twins and their family members for their continued support, generosity of time and interest in our research. Within the QIMRB studies, the ‘Cannabis’ and ‘Personality disorders’ studies were funded by National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) grant: DA18267 and facilitated through access to the Australian Twin Registry, a national resource supported by an Enabling Grant (ID 628911) from the National Health & Medical Research Council. We thank Dixie Statham, Richard Parker, Soad Hancock, Judith Moir, Sally Rodda, Pieta-Maree Shertock, Heather Park, Jill Wood, Pam Barton, Fran Husband and Adele Somerville, who worked on this project. We acknowledge the assistance of research assistants Natalie Garden and Reshika Chand and the support staff of the Genetic Epidemiology Laboratory at QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute. The ‘16Up’ study was supported by the Young and Well Cooperative Research Centre, which was established and funded under the Australian Government’s Cooperative Research Centres Program. The ‘25Up’ study was funded by NHMRC Project Grant APP1069141 to IBH and NGM. We also thank David Smyth and Scott Gordon for IT support.

Funders	Funder number
Australian Government’s Cooperative Research Centres Program
Avera Institute for Human Genetics
NWO-Groot	480-15-001/674
National Health & Medical Research Council
Young and Well Cooperative Research Centre
National Institutes of Health	R37 AG033590-08
National Institute on Drug Abuse
National Health and Medical Research Council	511921, APP1069141
National Institute of Development Administration	DA18267, 628911

Keywords

Borderline personality disorder
genetic correlation
loneliness
multivariate genetic models
twins

Cohort Studies

Netherlands Twin Register (NTR)

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10.1017/thg.2020.62

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Schermer, J. A., Colodro-Conde, L., Grasby, K. L., Hickie, I. B., Burns, J., Ligthart, L., Willemsen, G., Trull, T. J., Martin, N. G., & Boomsma, D. I. (2020). Genetic and Environmental Causes of Individual Differences in Borderline Personality Disorder Features and Loneliness are Partially Shared. Twin research and human genetics : the official journal of the International Society for Twin Studies, 23(4), 214-220. https://doi.org/10.1017/thg.2020.62

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title = "Genetic and Environmental Causes of Individual Differences in Borderline Personality Disorder Features and Loneliness are Partially Shared",

abstract = "Loneliness is related to mental and somatic health outcomes, including borderline personality disorder. Here, we analyze the sources of variation that are responsible for the relationship between borderline personality features (including four dimensions, affective instability, identity disturbance, negative relationships, self-harm and a total score) and loneliness. Using genetically informative data from two large nonclinical samples of adult twin pairs from Australia and the Netherlands (N = 11,329), we estimate the phenotypic, genetic and environmental correlations between self-reported borderline personality features and loneliness. Individual differences in borderline personality and loneliness were best explained by additive genetic factors with heritability estimates h2 = 41\% for the borderline personality total score and h2 = 36\% for loneliness, with the remaining variation explained by environmental influences that were not shared by twins from the same pair. Genetic and environmental factors influencing borderline personality (total score and four subscales separately) were also partial causes of loneliness. The correlation between loneliness and the borderline personality total score was rph = .51. The genetic correlation was estimated at rg = .64 and the environmental correlation at re = .40. Our study suggests common etiological factors in loneliness and borderline personality features.",

keywords = "Borderline personality disorder, genetic correlation, loneliness, multivariate genetic models, twins",

author = "Schermer, \{Julie Aitken\} and Luc{\'i}a Colodro-Conde and Grasby, \{Katrina L.\} and Hickie, \{Ian B.\} and Jane Burns and Lannie Ligthart and Gonneke Willemsen and Trull, \{Timothy J.\} and Martin, \{Nicholas G.\} and Boomsma, \{Dorret I.\}",

year = "2020",

month = aug,

doi = "10.1017/thg.2020.62",

language = "English",

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pages = "214--220",

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Schermer, JA, Colodro-Conde, L, Grasby, KL, Hickie, IB, Burns, J, Ligthart, L, Willemsen, G, Trull, TJ, Martin, NG & Boomsma, DI 2020, 'Genetic and Environmental Causes of Individual Differences in Borderline Personality Disorder Features and Loneliness are Partially Shared', Twin research and human genetics : the official journal of the International Society for Twin Studies, vol. 23, no. 4, pp. 214-220. https://doi.org/10.1017/thg.2020.62

Genetic and Environmental Causes of Individual Differences in Borderline Personality Disorder Features and Loneliness are Partially Shared. / Schermer, Julie Aitken; Colodro-Conde, Lucía; Grasby, Katrina L. et al.
In: Twin research and human genetics : the official journal of the International Society for Twin Studies, Vol. 23, No. 4, 08.2020, p. 214-220.

Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

TY - JOUR

T1 - Genetic and Environmental Causes of Individual Differences in Borderline Personality Disorder Features and Loneliness are Partially Shared

AU - Schermer, Julie Aitken

AU - Colodro-Conde, Lucía

AU - Grasby, Katrina L.

AU - Hickie, Ian B.

AU - Burns, Jane

AU - Ligthart, Lannie

AU - Willemsen, Gonneke

AU - Trull, Timothy J.

AU - Martin, Nicholas G.

AU - Boomsma, Dorret I.

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N2 - Loneliness is related to mental and somatic health outcomes, including borderline personality disorder. Here, we analyze the sources of variation that are responsible for the relationship between borderline personality features (including four dimensions, affective instability, identity disturbance, negative relationships, self-harm and a total score) and loneliness. Using genetically informative data from two large nonclinical samples of adult twin pairs from Australia and the Netherlands (N = 11,329), we estimate the phenotypic, genetic and environmental correlations between self-reported borderline personality features and loneliness. Individual differences in borderline personality and loneliness were best explained by additive genetic factors with heritability estimates h2 = 41% for the borderline personality total score and h2 = 36% for loneliness, with the remaining variation explained by environmental influences that were not shared by twins from the same pair. Genetic and environmental factors influencing borderline personality (total score and four subscales separately) were also partial causes of loneliness. The correlation between loneliness and the borderline personality total score was rph = .51. The genetic correlation was estimated at rg = .64 and the environmental correlation at re = .40. Our study suggests common etiological factors in loneliness and borderline personality features.

AB - Loneliness is related to mental and somatic health outcomes, including borderline personality disorder. Here, we analyze the sources of variation that are responsible for the relationship between borderline personality features (including four dimensions, affective instability, identity disturbance, negative relationships, self-harm and a total score) and loneliness. Using genetically informative data from two large nonclinical samples of adult twin pairs from Australia and the Netherlands (N = 11,329), we estimate the phenotypic, genetic and environmental correlations between self-reported borderline personality features and loneliness. Individual differences in borderline personality and loneliness were best explained by additive genetic factors with heritability estimates h2 = 41% for the borderline personality total score and h2 = 36% for loneliness, with the remaining variation explained by environmental influences that were not shared by twins from the same pair. Genetic and environmental factors influencing borderline personality (total score and four subscales separately) were also partial causes of loneliness. The correlation between loneliness and the borderline personality total score was rph = .51. The genetic correlation was estimated at rg = .64 and the environmental correlation at re = .40. Our study suggests common etiological factors in loneliness and borderline personality features.

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KW - multivariate genetic models

KW - twins

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SN - 1832-4274

VL - 23

SP - 214

EP - 220

JO - Twin research and human genetics : the official journal of the International Society for Twin Studies

JF - Twin research and human genetics : the official journal of the International Society for Twin Studies

IS - 4

ER -

Schermer JA, Colodro-Conde L, Grasby KL, Hickie IB, Burns J, Ligthart L et al. Genetic and Environmental Causes of Individual Differences in Borderline Personality Disorder Features and Loneliness are Partially Shared. Twin research and human genetics : the official journal of the International Society for Twin Studies. 2020 Aug;23(4):214-220. doi: 10.1017/thg.2020.62

Genetic and Environmental Causes of Individual Differences in Borderline Personality Disorder Features and Loneliness are Partially Shared

Abstract

Funding

Keywords

Cohort Studies

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