The intergenerational association between parents' problem gambling and impulsivity-hyperactivity/inattention behaviors in children

Despite the well-established association between problem gambling and ADHD core categories of impulsivity-hyperactivity and inattention, the link between parents’ problem gambling and impulsivity-hyperactivity/inattention (IH/I) behaviors in children has not been investigated. This study investigated the association between parents’ problem gambling and children’s IH/I behaviors while controlling for potential confounding variables. A population-based prospective cohort followed-up from kindergarten to age 30, the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Kindergarten Children (QLSKC), provided data over three generations. Among 1358 participants at age 30, parents with a child aged 1 year or older (N=468; Mean age=4.65 years; SD=2.70) were selected. Generalized Linear Models included measures of grandparents’ and parents’ problem gambling, parents’ IH/I behaviors in childhood, and a host of risk factors and comorbidities to predict IH/I in children. Intergenerational bivariate associations were observed between grandparents’ problem gambling, parents’ IH/I in childhood and problem gambling at age 30, and between parents’ IH/I, problem gambling, and children’s IH/I behaviors. Parents’ problem gambling predicted children’s IH/I behaviors above and beyond the effects of covariates such as family and socioeconomic characteristics, alcohol and drug use, depression symptoms and parents’ gambling involvement. Parents’ IH/I behaviors in childhood also predicted children’s IH/I and had a moderating, enhancing effect on parents’ problem gambling association with their offspring’s IH/I behaviors. Problem gambling is a characteristic of parents’ mental health that is distinctively associated with children’s IH/I behaviors, above and beyond parents’ own history of IH/I and of typically related addictive, psychopathological or socioeconomic risk factors and comorbidities

Association between birthweight and later body mass index : an individual-based pooled analysis of 27 twin cohorts participating in the CODATwins project

Background: There is evidence that birthweight is positively associated with body mass index (BMI) in later life, but it remains unclear whether this is explained by genetic factors or the intrauterine environment. We analysed the association between birthweight and BMI from infancy to adulthood within twin pairs, which provides insights into the role of genetic and environmental individual-specific factors. Methods: This study is based on the data from 27 twin cohorts in 17 countries. The pooled data included 78 642 twin individuals (20 635 monozygotic and 18 686 same-sex dizygotic twin pairs) with information on birthweight and a total of 214 930 BMI measurements at ages ranging from 1 to 49 years. The association between birthweight and BMI was analysed at both the individual and within-pair levels using linear regression analyses. Results: At the individual level, a 1-kg increase in birthweight was linearly associated with up to 0.9 kg/m(2) higher BMI (P <0.001). Within twin pairs, regression coefficients were generally greater (up to 1.2 kg/m(2) per kg birthweight, P <0.001) than those from the individual-level analyses. Intra-pair associations between birthweight and later BMI were similar in both zygosity groups and sexes and were lower in adulthood. Conclusions: These findings indicate that environmental factors unique to each individual have an important role in the positive association between birthweight and later BMI, at least until young adulthood.Peer reviewe

Twin's Birth-Order Differences in Height and Body Mass Index From Birth to Old Age : A Pooled Study of 26 Twin Cohorts Participating in the CODATwins Project

We analyzed birth order differences in means and variances of height and body mass index (BMI) in monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins from infancy to old age. The data were derived from the international CODATwins database. The total number of height and BMI measures from 0.5 to 79.5 years of age was 397,466. As expected, first-born twins had greater birth weight than second-born twins. With respect to height, first-born twins were slightly taller than second-born twins in childhood. After adjusting the results for birth weight, the birth order differences decreased and were no longer statistically significant. First-born twins had greater BMI than the second-born twins over childhood and adolescence. After adjusting the results for birth weight, birth order was still associated with BMI until 12 years of age. No interaction effect between birth order and zygosity was found. Only limited evidence was found that birth order influenced variances of height or BMI. The results were similar among boys and girls and also in MZ and DZ twins. Overall, the differences in height and BMI between first-and second-born twins were modest even in early childhood, while adjustment for birth weight reduced the birth order differences but did not remove them for BMI.Peer reviewe

Genetic and environmental factors affecting birth size variation : a pooled individual-based analysis of secular trends and global geographical differences using 26 twin cohorts

Background: The genetic architecture of birth size may differ geographically and over time. We examined differences in the genetic and environmental contributions to birthweight, length and ponderal index (PI) across geographical-cultural regions (Europe, North America and Australia, and East Asia) and across birth cohorts, and how gestational age modifies these effects. Methods: Data from 26 twin cohorts in 16 countries including 57 613 monozygotic and dizygotic twin pairs were pooled. Genetic and environmental variations of birth size were estimated using genetic structural equation modelling. Results: The variance of birthweight and length was predominantly explained by shared environmental factors, whereas the variance of PI was explained both by shared and unique environmental factors. Genetic variance contributing to birth size was small. Adjusting for gestational age decreased the proportions of shared environmental variance and increased the propositions of unique environmental variance. Genetic variance was similar in the geographical-cultural regions, but shared environmental variance was smaller in East Asia than in Europe and North America and Australia. The total variance and shared environmental variance of birth length and PI were greater from the birth cohort 1990-99 onwards compared with the birth cohorts from 1970-79 to 1980-89. Conclusions: The contribution of genetic factors to birth size is smaller than that of shared environmental factors, which is partly explained by gestational age. Shared environmental variances of birth length and PI were greater in the latest birth cohorts and differed also across geographical-cultural regions. Shared environmental factors are important when explaining differences in the variation of birth size globally and over time.Peer reviewe

Associations between birth size and later height from infancy through adulthood:an individual based pooled analysis of 28 twin cohorts participating in the CODATwins project

Background: There is evidence that birth size is positively associated with height in later life, but it remains unclear whether this is explained by genetic factors or the intrauterine environment. Aim: To analyze the associations of birth weight, length and ponderal index with height from infancy through adulthood within mono- and dizygotic twin pairs, which provides insights into the role of genetic and environmental individual-specific factors. Methods: This study is based on the data from 28 twin cohorts in 17 countries. The pooled data included 41,852 complete twin pairs (55% monozygotic and 45% same-sex dizygotic) with information on birth weight and a total of 112,409 paired height measurements at ages ranging from 1 to 69 years. Birth length was available for 19,881 complete twin pairs, with a total of 72,692 paired height measurements. The association between birth size and later height was analyzed at both the individual and within-pair level by linear regression analyses. Results: Within twin pairs, regression coefficients showed that a 1-kg increase in birth weight and a 1-cm increase in birth length were associated with 1.14-4.25 cm and 0.18-0.90 cm taller height, respectively. The magnitude of the associations was generally greater within dizygotic than within monozygotic twin pairs, and this difference between zygosities was more pronounced for birth length. Conclusion: Both genetic and individual-specific environmental factors play a role in the association between birth size and later height from infancy to adulthood, with a larger role for genetics in the association with birth length than with birth weight.This work was supported by the Academy of Finland (grant number #266592). The Australian Twin Registry is supported by a Centre of Research Excellence (grant ID 1079102) from the National Health and Medical Research Council administered by the University of Melbourne. The Boston University Twin Project is funded by grants (#R01 HD068435 #R01 MH062375) from the National Institutes of Health to K. Saudino. The Carolina African American Twin Study of Aging (CAATSA) was funded by a grant from the National Institute on Aging (grant 1RO1-AG13662-01A2) to K. E. Whitfield. The CATSS-Study is supported by the Swedish Research Council through the Swedish Initiative for Research on Microdata in the Social And Medical Sciences (SIMSAM) framework grant no 340-2013-5867, grants provided by the Stockholm County Council (ALF-projects), the Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation and the Swedish Asthma and Allergy Association's Research Foundation. Colorado Twin Registry is funded by NIDA funded center grant DA011015, & Longitudinal Twin Study HD10333; Author Huibregtse is supported by 5T32DA017637 and 5T32AG052371. Since its origin the East Flanders Prospective Survey has been partly supported by grants from the Fund of Scientific Research, Flanders and Twins, a non-profit Association for Scientific Research in Multiple Births (Belgium). Data collection and analyses in Finnish twin cohorts have been supported by ENGAGE - European Network for Genetic and Genomic Epidemiology, FP7-HEALTH-F4-2007, grant agreement number 201413, National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (grants AA-12502, AA-00145, and AA-09203 to R J Rose, the Academy of Finland Center of Excellence in Complex Disease Genetics (grant numbers: 213506, 129680), Centre of Excellence in Research on Mitochondria, Metabolism and Disease (FinMIT, grant 272376), the Academy of Finland (grants 100499, 205585, 118555, 141054, 265240, 263278 and 264146 to J Kaprio and grant 266286 and 314383 to K Pietilainen), the Finnish Diabetes Research Foundation, Novo Nordisk Foundation, Helsinki University Central Hospital and University of Helsinki. K Silventoinen is supported by Osaka University's International Joint Research Promotion Program. Gemini was supported by a grant from Cancer Research UK (C1418/A7974). Anthropometric measurements of the Hungarian twins were supported by Medexpert Ltd., Budapest, Hungary. Korean Twin-Family Register was supported by the Global Research Network Program of the National Research Foundation (NRF 2011-220-E00006). Longitudinal Israeli Study of Twins was funded by the Starting Grant no. 240994 from the European Research Council (ERC) to Ariel Knafo. The Michigan State University Twin Registry has been supported by Michigan State University, as well as grants R01-MH081813, R01-MH0820-54, R01-MH092377-02, R21-MH070542-01, R03-MH63851-01 from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), R01-HD066040 from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), and 11-SPG-2518 from the MSU Foundation. The content of this manuscript is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIMH, the NICHD, or the National Institutes of Health. PETS was supported by grants from the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (grant numbers 437015 and 607358 to JC, and RS), the Bonnie Babes Foundation (grant number BBF20704 to JMC), the Financial Markets Foundation for Children (grant no. r 032-2007 to JMC), and by the Victorian Governments Operational Infrastructure Support Program. The Quebec Newborn Twin Study acknowledges financial support from the Fonds Quebecois de la Recherche sur la Societe et la Culture, the Fonds de la Recherche en Sante du Quebec, the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the National Health Research Development Program, the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, Sainte-Justine Hospital's Research Center, and the Canada Research Chair Program (Michel Boivin). The Twins Early Development Study (TEDS) is supported by a program grant (MR/M021475/1) from the UK Medical Research Council and the work on obesity in TEDS is supported in part by a grant from the UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (31/D19086). The West Japan Twins and Higher Order Multiple Births Registry was supported by Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B) (grant number 15H05105) from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. Netherlands Twin Register acknowledges the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) and MagW/ZonMW grants 904-61-090, 985-10-002, 912-10-020, 904-61-193, 480-04-004, 463-06-001, 451-04-034, 400-05-717, Addiction-31160008, Middelgroot-911-09-032, Spinozapremie 56-464-14192; VU University's Institute for Health and Care Research (EMGO +); the European Research Council (ERC - 230374), the Avera Institute, Sioux Falls, South Dakota (USA)

Chevauchement entre les trajectoires de jeu et les trajectoires de consommation de psychotropes au début de l’adolescence : une étude longitudinale génétiquement informative

L’objectif de cette étude est triple : 1- déterminer le nombre, la forme et le degré de chevauchement des trajectoires types de participation à des jeux de hasard et d’argent (JHA) et de consommation de substances psychotropes (SUP) chez un échantillon de jumeaux au début de l’adolescence ; 2- vérifier les ressemblances et les différences au niveau de l’architecture génétique et environnementale des trajectoires de JHA et de SUP ; 3- déterminer la présence de facteurs de risque associés de manière prédictive aux trajectoires simples ou mixtes de JHA et de SUP. L’échantillon final est composé de 213 (122 paires monozygotes et 91 paires dizygotes de même sexe) paires de jumeaux élevés au sein de la même famille. Les données relatives aux JHA et aux SUP ont été recueillies à 13, 14 et 15 ans à l’aide d’instruments de mesure autoadministrés. Les données relatives aux facteurs de risque touchent un facteur d’ordre personnel (c.-à-d., impulsivité) et des facteurs d’ordre familial mesurés à la préadolescence. Des analyses de trajectoires ont permis de dégager deux trajectoires de participation aux JHA et deux trajectoires de consommation de SUP. Des analyses génétiquement informatives ont permis, par ailleurs, de montrer que les trajectoires de participation à des JHA et de consommation de SUP sont majoritairement sous contrôle génétique. Finalement, des analyses de régression ont révélé des différences au plan des variables associées de façon prédictive aux trajectoires simples ou mixtes de JHA et de SUP. Ces résultats sont abordés à la lumière des changements dans le DSM-V qui établissent un rapprochement entre les problèmes de JHA et les problèmes de SUP.This study has a triple objective : 1- To determine the number, form and degree of overlap of typical trajectories of participation in gambling and the consumption of psychotropic substances among a sampling of twins at the beginning of adolescence ; 2- To verify the similarities and differences in regard to the genetic and environmental architecture of the gambling and psychotropic substance consumption trajectories ; 3- To determine the risk factors associated, in a predictive manner, with single or mixed trajectories of gambling and drug consumption. The final sampling was composed of 213 pairs of twins (122 monozygotic pairs and 91 dizigotic pairs of the same sex) raised in the same family. The data concerning gambling and drug consumption was gathered at the ages of 13, 14 and 15 years using self-administered measurement tools. The data concerning risk factors affected personal factors (that is, impulsiveness) and family factors measured at pre-adolescence. Analysis of the trajectories indicated two trajectories concerning participation in gambling and two concerning consumption of psychotropic substances. Genetically informative analyses also demonstrated that the trajectories concerning participation in gambling and consumption of psychotropic substances are mainly controlled by genetics. Lastly, analyses of regression revealed differences in the variables associated in a predictive manner to the single or mixed trajectories of gambling and psychotropic substance consumption. These results are considered in the light of changes in the DSM-V which establish a relation between problems involving gambling and the consumption of psychotropic substances.Este estudio tiene un triple objetivo : 1) Determinar la cantidad, la forma y el grado de traslapo de las trayectorias tipo de participación en los juegos de azar y de dinero y el consumo de sustancias psicotrópicas en una muestra de mellizos al comienzo de la adolescencia ; 2) Verificar las semejanzas y las diferencias en el nivel de la arquitectura genética y ambiental de los juegos de azar y de dinero y el consumo de sustancias psicotrópicas ; 3) Determinar la presencia de factores de riesgo relacionados de manera predictiva con las trayectorias simples o mixtas de los juegos de azar y de dinero y el consumo de sustancias psicotrópicas. La muestra final está compuesta por 213 pares de mellizos (122 pares de monocigotas y 91 pares de dicigotas) del mismo sexo criados en el seno de la misma familia. Los datos relativos a los juegos de azar y de dinero y el consumo de sustancias psicotrópicas se obtuvieron a los 13, 14 y 15 años por medio de instrumentos de medición auto administrados. Los datos relativos a los factores de riesgo comprenden un factor de orden personal (es decir, impulsividad) y factores de orden familiar medidos en la preadolescencia. Los análisis de las trayectorias permitieron destacar dos trayectorias de participación en los juegos de azar y de dinero y en el consumo de sustancias psicotrópicas. Análisis genéticamente informativos permitieron, por otra parte, mostrar que las trayectorias de participación en los juegos de azar y de dinero y en el consumo de sustancias psicotrópicas están en su mayoría bajo control genético. Finalmente, los análisis de regresión revelaron diferencias en el plano de las variables relacionadas de manera predictiva con las trayectorias simples o mixtas de los juegos de azar y de dinero y del consumo de sustancias psicotrópicas. Se llega a estos resultados a la luz de los cambios realizados en el manual DSM.5, que establecen un acercamiento entre los problemas de juegos de azar y de dinero y los de consumo de sustancias

Associations between peer victimization and suicidal ideation and suicide attempt during adolescence: results from a prospective population-based birth cohort

Objective To test whether adolescents who are victimized by peers are at heightened risk for suicidal ideation and suicide attempt, using both cross-sectional and prospective investigations