Age at first birth in women is genetically associated with increased risk of schizophrenia

Prof. Paunio on PGC:n jäsenPrevious studies have shown an increased risk for mental health problems in children born to both younger and older parents compared to children of average-aged parents. We previously used a novel design to reveal a latent mechanism of genetic association between schizophrenia and age at first birth in women (AFB). Here, we use independent data from the UK Biobank (N = 38,892) to replicate the finding of an association between predicted genetic risk of schizophrenia and AFB in women, and to estimate the genetic correlation between schizophrenia and AFB in women stratified into younger and older groups. We find evidence for an association between predicted genetic risk of schizophrenia and AFB in women (P-value = 1.12E-05), and we show genetic heterogeneity between younger and older AFB groups (P-value = 3.45E-03). The genetic correlation between schizophrenia and AFB in the younger AFB group is -0.16 (SE = 0.04) while that between schizophrenia and AFB in the older AFB group is 0.14 (SE = 0.08). Our results suggest that early, and perhaps also late, age at first birth in women is associated with increased genetic risk for schizophrenia in the UK Biobank sample. These findings contribute new insights into factors contributing to the complex bio-social risk architecture underpinning the association between parental age and offspring mental health.Peer reviewe

Passion’s Slave?: Conscious and Unconscious Cognitive Processes in Alcohol and Drug Abuse

This chapter reviews the literature on cognitive processes in substance use disorders from a dual-process perspective. In dual-process models, behavior is viewed as the joint outcome of "impulsive" and "reflective" processes. Reflective processes rely on a single limited capacity mechanism and can be depleted, resulting in a stronger influence of impulsive processes. Recent studies confirmed this, both for state variables (e.g., reduced moderation of impulses after acute alcohol) and for trait variables (stronger prediction of addictive and related behaviors by impulsive processes in individuals with relatively weak executive control processes). In addiction, the balance between impulsive and reflective processes can become (further) disturbed as a result of the effects of the psychoactive substances on the cognitive processes involved. This is related to the notion of reduced "willpower," traditionally at the heart of definitions of addiction. A model on the cognitive processes involved in addiction is presented, along with implications for interventions. Keywords: Dual-process model, addiction, substance use disorder, implicit cognitive processes, executive functions, craving, expectancies, motivatio