TY - JOUR

T1 - Disentangling polygenic associations between attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, educational attainment, literacy and language

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 - Werge, Thomas

AU - iPSYCH-Broad-PGC ADHD Consortium

PY - 2019

Y1 - 2019

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.

U2 - 10.1038/s41398-018-0324-2

DO - 10.1038/s41398-018-0324-2

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 30679418

AN - SCOPUS:85060519969

VL - 9

JO - Translational Psychiatry

JF - Translational Psychiatry

SN - 2158-3188

IS - 1

M1 - 35

ER -