TY - JOUR
T1 - Disentangling polygenic associations between attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, educational attainment, literacy and language
AU - iPSYCH-Broad-PGC ADHD Consortium
AU - Verhoef, Ellen
AU - Demontis, Ditte
AU - Burgess, Stephen
AU - Shapland, Chin Yang
AU - Dale, Philip S.
AU - Okbay, Aysu
AU - Neale, Benjamin M.
AU - Faraone, Stephen V.
AU - Stergiakouli, Evie
AU - Davey Smith, George
AU - Fisher, Simon E.
AU - Børglum, Anders D.
AU - St Pourcain, Beate
AU - Agerbo, Esben
AU - Als, Thomas Damm
AU - Bækved-Hansen, Marie
AU - Belliveau, Rich
AU - Børglum, Anders D.
AU - Bybjerg-Grauholm, Jonas
AU - Cerrato, Felecia
AU - Chambert, Kimberly
AU - Churchhouse, Claire
AU - Dalsgaard, Søren
AU - Daly, Mark J.
AU - Demontis, Ditte
AU - Dumont, Ashley
AU - Goldstein, Jacqueline
AU - Grove, Jakob
AU - Hansen, Christine S.
AU - Hauberg, Mads Engel
AU - Hollegaard, Mads V.
AU - Hougaard, David M.
AU - Howrigan, Daniel P.
AU - Huang, Hailiang
AU - Maller, Julian
AU - Martin, Alicia R.
AU - Martin, Joanna
AU - Mattheisen, Manuel
AU - Moran, Jennifer
AU - Mors, Ole
AU - Mortensen, Preben Bo
AU - Neale, Benjamin M.
AU - Nordentoft, Merete
AU - Pallesen, Jonatan
AU - Palmer, Duncan S.
AU - Pedersen, Carsten Bøcker
AU - Pedersen, Marianne Giørtz
AU - Poterba, Timothy
AU - Poulsen, Jesper Buchhave
AU - Ripke, Stephan
PY - 2019/1/24
Y1 - 2019/1/24
N2 - Interpreting polygenic overlap between ADHD and both literacy-related and language-related impairments is challenging as genetic associations might be influenced by indirectly shared genetic factors. Here, we investigate genetic overlap between polygenic ADHD risk and multiple literacy-related and/or language-related abilities (LRAs), as assessed in UK children (N ≤ 5919), accounting for genetically predictable educational attainment (EA). Genome-wide summary statistics on clinical ADHD and years of schooling were obtained from large consortia (N ≤ 326,041). Our findings show that ADHD-polygenic scores (ADHD-PGS) were inversely associated with LRAs in ALSPAC, most consistently with reading-related abilities, and explained ≤1.6% phenotypic variation. These polygenic links were then dissected into both ADHD effects shared with and independent of EA, using multivariable regressions (MVR). Conditional on EA, polygenic ADHD risk remained associated with multiple reading and/or spelling abilities, phonemic awareness and verbal intelligence, but not listening comprehension and non-word repetition. Using conservative ADHD-instruments (P-threshold < 5 × 10
-8), this corresponded, for example, to a 0.35 SD decrease in pooled reading performance per log-odds in ADHD-liability (P = 9.2 × 10
-5). Using subthreshold ADHD-instruments (P-threshold < 0.0015), these effects became smaller, with a 0.03 SD decrease per log-odds in ADHD risk (P = 1.4 × 10
-6), although the predictive accuracy increased. However, polygenic ADHD-effects shared with EA were of equal strength and at least equal magnitude compared to those independent of EA, for all LRAs studied, and detectable using subthreshold instruments. Thus, ADHD-related polygenic links with LRAs are to a large extent due to shared genetic effects with EA, although there is evidence for an ADHD-specific association profile, independent of EA, that primarily involves literacy-related impairments.
AB - Interpreting polygenic overlap between ADHD and both literacy-related and language-related impairments is challenging as genetic associations might be influenced by indirectly shared genetic factors. Here, we investigate genetic overlap between polygenic ADHD risk and multiple literacy-related and/or language-related abilities (LRAs), as assessed in UK children (N ≤ 5919), accounting for genetically predictable educational attainment (EA). Genome-wide summary statistics on clinical ADHD and years of schooling were obtained from large consortia (N ≤ 326,041). Our findings show that ADHD-polygenic scores (ADHD-PGS) were inversely associated with LRAs in ALSPAC, most consistently with reading-related abilities, and explained ≤1.6% phenotypic variation. These polygenic links were then dissected into both ADHD effects shared with and independent of EA, using multivariable regressions (MVR). Conditional on EA, polygenic ADHD risk remained associated with multiple reading and/or spelling abilities, phonemic awareness and verbal intelligence, but not listening comprehension and non-word repetition. Using conservative ADHD-instruments (P-threshold < 5 × 10
-8), this corresponded, for example, to a 0.35 SD decrease in pooled reading performance per log-odds in ADHD-liability (P = 9.2 × 10
-5). Using subthreshold ADHD-instruments (P-threshold < 0.0015), these effects became smaller, with a 0.03 SD decrease per log-odds in ADHD risk (P = 1.4 × 10
-6), although the predictive accuracy increased. However, polygenic ADHD-effects shared with EA were of equal strength and at least equal magnitude compared to those independent of EA, for all LRAs studied, and detectable using subthreshold instruments. Thus, ADHD-related polygenic links with LRAs are to a large extent due to shared genetic effects with EA, although there is evidence for an ADHD-specific association profile, independent of EA, that primarily involves literacy-related impairments.
KW - ADHD
KW - literacy
KW - language
KW - EA
KW - ALSPAC
KW - polygenic overlap
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85060519969&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1038/s41398-018-0324-2
DO - 10.1038/s41398-018-0324-2
M3 - Article (Academic Journal)
C2 - 30679418
AN - SCOPUS:85060519969
SN - 2158-3188
VL - 9
SP - 35
JO - Translational Psychiatry
JF - Translational Psychiatry
IS - 1
M1 - 35
ER -