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Intergenerational transmission of education and ADHD: Effects of parental genotypes

View ORCID ProfileEveline L. de Zeeuw, View ORCID ProfileJouke-Jan Hottenga, View ORCID ProfileKlaasjan G. Ouwens, View ORCID ProfileConor V. Dolan, View ORCID ProfileErik A. Ehli, Gareth E. Davies, View ORCID ProfileDorret I. Boomsma, View ORCID ProfileElsje van Bergen
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/664128
Eveline L. de Zeeuw
aDepartment of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
bAmsterdam Public Health Research Institute, VUmc, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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  • For correspondence: el.de.zeeuw@vu.nl
Jouke-Jan Hottenga
aDepartment of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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Klaasjan G. Ouwens
aDepartment of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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Conor V. Dolan
aDepartment of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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Erik A. Ehli
cAvera Institute for Human Genetics, Avera McKennan Hospital & University Health Center, Sioux Falls, SD, US
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Gareth E. Davies
cAvera Institute for Human Genetics, Avera McKennan Hospital & University Health Center, Sioux Falls, SD, US
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Dorret I. Boomsma
aDepartment of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
bAmsterdam Public Health Research Institute, VUmc, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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Elsje van Bergen
aDepartment of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
bAmsterdam Public Health Research Institute, VUmc, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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Abstract

It is challenging to study whether children resemble their parents due to nature, nurture, or a mixture of both. Here we used a novel design that employs the fact that parents transmit 50% of their alleles to their offspring. The combined effect of these transmitted and non-transmitted alleles on a trait are summarized in a polygenic score (PGS). The non-transmitted PGS can only affect offspring through the environment, via genetically influenced behaviours in the parents, called genetic nurturing. For genotyped mother-father-offspring trios (1,120-2,518 per analysis) we calculated transmitted and non-transmitted PGSs for adult educational attainment (EA) and childhood ADHD and tested if these predicted outcomes in offspring. In adults, both transmitted (R2 = 7.6%) and non-transmitted (R2 = 1.7%) EA PGSs predicted offspring EA, evidencing genetic nurturing. In children around age 12, academic achievement was predicted only by transmitted EA PGSs (R2 = 5.7%), but we did not find genetic nurturing (R2 ∼ 0.1%). The ADHD PGSs did not significantly predict academic achievement (R2 ∼ 0.6%). ADHD symptoms in children were predicted by transmitted EA PGSs and ADHD PGSs (R2 = 1-2%). Based on these results, we conclude that previously reported associations between parent characteristics and offspring outcomes seem to be mainly a marker of genetic effects shared by parents and children.

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Posted June 19, 2019.
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Intergenerational transmission of education and ADHD: Effects of parental genotypes
Eveline L. de Zeeuw, Jouke-Jan Hottenga, Klaasjan G. Ouwens, Conor V. Dolan, Erik A. Ehli, Gareth E. Davies, Dorret I. Boomsma, Elsje van Bergen
bioRxiv 664128; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/664128
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Intergenerational transmission of education and ADHD: Effects of parental genotypes
Eveline L. de Zeeuw, Jouke-Jan Hottenga, Klaasjan G. Ouwens, Conor V. Dolan, Erik A. Ehli, Gareth E. Davies, Dorret I. Boomsma, Elsje van Bergen
bioRxiv 664128; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/664128

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