Psychiatric Polygenic Risk Scores as Predictor for Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Autism Spectrum Disorder in a Clinical Child and Adolescent Sample

Arija G. Jansen*, Gwen C. Dieleman, Philip R. Jansen, Frank C. Verhulst, Danielle Posthuma, Tinca J.C. Polderman

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to JournalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Neurodevelopmental disorders such as attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are highly heritable and influenced by many single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). SNPs can be used to calculate individual polygenic risk scores (PRS) for a disorder. We aim to explore the association between the PRS for ADHD, ASD and for Schizophrenia (SCZ), and ADHD and ASD diagnoses in a clinical child and adolescent population. Based on the most recent genome wide association studies of ADHD, ASD and SCZ, PRS of each disorder were calculated for individuals of a clinical child and adolescent target sample (N = 688) and for adult controls (N = 943). We tested with logistic regression analyses for an association with (1) a single diagnosis of ADHD (N = 280), (2) a single diagnosis of ASD (N = 295), and (3) combining the two diagnoses, thus subjects with either ASD, ADHD or both (N = 688). Our results showed a significant association of the ADHD PRS with ADHD status (OR 1.6, P = 1.39 × 10−07) and with the combined ADHD/ASD status (OR 1.36, P = 1.211 × 10−05), but not with ASD status (OR 1.14, P = 1). No associations for the ASD and SCZ PRS were observed. In sum, the PRS of ADHD is significantly associated with the combined ADHD/ASD status. Yet, this association is primarily driven by ADHD status, suggesting disorder specific genetic effects of the ADHD PRS.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)203-212
Number of pages10
JournalBehavior Genetics
Volume50
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jul 2020

Funding

We would like to thank the PGC for allowing us to use their summary statistics. Statistical analyses were carried out on the Genetic Cluster Computer ( http://www.geneticcluster.org ), which is financially supported by the Netherlands Scientific Organization (NWO 480-05-003). We gratefully acknowledge financial support by the Sophia Stichting voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek under grant number 593 and S14-27, and the Netherlands Scientific Organization (NWO VICI 453-14-005).

FundersFunder number
Netherlands Scientific Organization
Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek480-05-003
Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek
Stichting Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek OogziekenhuisS14-27, VICI 453-14-005, 593
Stichting Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek Oogziekenhuis

    Keywords

    • ADHD
    • Autism spectrum disorder (ASD)
    • Child behavioral checklist (CBCL)
    • Polygenic risk score
    • Psychiatric disorders
    • Schizophrenia

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