There is a high prevalence of antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) in individuals affected by substance use disorders (SUD). However, there is limited information on the specific patterns of ...association of ASPD with SUD severity and specific SUD diagnostic criteria. We investigated the association of alcohol, cannabis, cocaine, opioid, and tobacco use disorders (AUD, CanUD, CocUD, OUD, and TUD, respectively) in 1660 individuals with ASPD and 6640 controls matched by sex (24% female), age, and racial/ethnic background in a sample ascertained for addiction-related traits. Generalized linear regressions were used to test ASPD with respect to the five DSM-5 SUD diagnoses, their severity (i.e., mild, moderate, severe), and their diagnostic criteria. We found that ASPD is associated with the diagnosis and severity of AUD (Odds Ratio, ORs = 1.89 and 1.25), CanUD (ORs = 2.13 and 1.32), and TUD (ORs = 1.50 and 1.21) (ps < 0.003). Of the specific diagnostic criteria, the “hazardous use” criterion showed the strongest association with ASPD across the five SUDs investigated (from ORTUD = 1.88 to ORCanUD = 1.37). However, when criteria of different SUDs were included in the same model, ASPD was independently associated only with TUD “hazardous use” and CocUD “attempts to quit”. Attempting to quit cocaine was inversely related to the presence of ASPD and remained significant (OR = 0.57, 95% confidence interval = 0.36–0.89) after controlling for interactive effects with sex. The current work provides novel insights into ASPD-SUD comorbidity, supporting the existence of different SUD patterns among individuals affected by ASPD.
Suicide is a global public health problem with particular resonance for the US military. Genetic risk factors for suicidality are of interest as indicators of susceptibility and potential targets for ...intervention. We utilized population‐based nonclinical cohorts of US military personnel (discovery: N = 473 cases and N = 9778 control subjects; replication: N = 135 cases and N = 6879 control subjects) and a clinical case‐control sample of recent suicide attempters (N = 51 cases and N = 112 control subjects) to conduct GWAS of suicide attempts (SA). Genomewide association was evaluated within each ancestral group (European‐, African‐, Latino‐American) and study using logistic regression models. Meta‐analysis of the European ancestry discovery samples revealed a genomewide significant locus in association with SA near MRAP2 (melanocortin 2 receptor accessory protein 2) and CEP162 (centrosomal protein 162); 12 genomewide significant SNPs in the region; peak SNP rs12524136‐T, OR = 2.88, p = 5.24E‐10. These findings were not replicated in the European ancestry subsamples of the replication or suicide attempters samples. However, the association of the peak SNP remained significant in a meta‐analysis of all studies and ancestral subgroups (OR = 2.18, 95%CI 1.70, 2.80). Polygenic risk score (PRS) analyses showed some association of SA with bipolar disorder. The association with SNPs encompassing MRAP2, a gene expressed in brain and adrenal cortex and involved in neural control of energy homeostasis, points to this locus as a plausible susceptibility gene for suicidality that should be further studied. Larger sample sizes will be needed to confirm and extend these findings.
The United States is experiencing the worst opioid overdose (OpOD) crisis in its history. We carried out a genome‐wide association study on OpOD severity among 3 477 opioid‐exposed individuals, 1 019 ...of whom experienced OpODs, including 2 032 European Americans (EAs) (653 overdose cases), and 1 445 African Americans (AAs) (366 overdose cases). Participants were scored 1 to 4 based on their reported overdose status and the number of times that medical treatment was required. Genome‐wide association study (GWAS) of EAs and AAs separately resulted in two genome‐wide significant (GWS) signals in AAs but none in EAs. The first signal was represented by three closely mapped variants (rs115208233, rs116181528, and rs114077267) located near mucolipin 1 (MCOLN1) and patatin‐like phospholipase domain containing 6 (PNPLA6), and the other signal was represented by rs369098800 near dead‐box helicase 18 (DDX18). There were no additional GWS signals in the trans‐population meta‐analysis, so that post‐GWAS analysis focused on these loci. In network analysis, MCOLN1 was coexpressed with PNPLA6, but only MCOLN1‐associated genes were enriched in functional categories relevant to OpOD, including calcium and cation channel activities; no enrichment was observed for PNPLA6‐associated genes. Drug repositioning analysis was carried out in the connectivity map (CMap) database for MCOLN1 (PNPLA6 was not available in CMap) and showed that the opioid agonist drug‐induced expression profile is similar to that of MCOLN1 overexpression and yielded the highest‐ranked expression profile of 83 drug classes. Thus, MCOLN1 may be a risk gene for OpOD, but replication is needed. This knowledge could be helpful in the identification of drug targets for preventing OpOD.
Opioid overdose deaths are at a high level in the United States. To improve our understanding of the biology and genetics of risk for opioid overdose, we carried out a genomewide association study of opioid overdose in European‐ and African‐Americans and identified markers near the gene MCOLN1 as associated with opioid overdose in African‐Americans but not European‐Americans. Post‐GWAS analyses showed that the profile of MCOLN1 overexpression is similar to the expression profiles of many opioid agonists, providing further support for MCOLN1 as a risk gene for opioid overdose.
Smoking behaviors and alcohol use disorder (AUD), both moderately heritable traits, commonly co-occur in the general population. Single-trait genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified ...multiple loci for smoking and AUD. However, GWASs that have aimed to identify loci contributing to co-occurring smoking and AUD have used small samples and thus have not been highly informative. Applying multi-trait analysis of GWASs (MTAG), we conducted a joint GWAS of smoking and AUD with data from the Million Veteran Program (N = 318,694). By leveraging GWAS summary statistics for AUD, MTAG identified 21 genome-wide significant (GWS) loci associated with smoking initiation and 17 loci associated with smoking cessation compared to 16 and 8 loci, respectively, identified by single-trait GWAS. The novel loci for smoking behaviors identified by MTAG included those previously associated with psychiatric or substance use traits. Colocalization analysis identified 10 loci shared by AUD and smoking status traits, all of which achieved GWS in MTAG, including variants on SIX3, NCAM1, and near DRD2. Functional annotation of the MTAG variants highlighted biologically important regions on ZBTB20, DRD2, PPP6C, and GCKR that contribute to smoking behaviors. In contrast, MTAG of smoking behaviors and alcohol consumption (AC) did not enhance discovery compared with single-trait GWAS for smoking behaviors. We conclude that using MTAG to augment the power of GWAS enables the identification of novel genetic variants for commonly co-occuring phenotypes, providing new insights into their pleiotropic effects on smoking behavior and AUD.
There have been many conflicting reports concerning the association of the DRD2 locus with alcohol dependence (AD). To investigate whether these findings could be reconciled by considering the ...genomic region of DRD2 in greater detail, we conducted two separate association studies of AD in 1220 European-American subjects using family-based (488 subjects) and case–control (318 cases and 414 controls) designs, and 43 single nucleotide polymorphisms mapped to the gene cluster of NCAM1, TTC12, ANKK1 and DRD2. We used a generalized linear model and haplotype score tests for the case–control sample, and the family-based association test for the family sample. Haplotype associations centered on TTC12 exon 3 rs1893699–rs723077; optimal individual haplotype simulated P-value (Poihs) = 0.00021 in both independent samples (family and case–control). Additional AD-associated haplotypes centered around NCAM1 exon 12 in the family sample (Poihs = 0.0032), and at exons 2 and 5 of ANKK1 in the case–control sample (Poihs = 0.00058). LD contrasts between cases and controls support selection at TTC12 exon 3 and ANKK1 exon 2. The armadillo repeat domains encoded by TTC12 and dopamine interact in the Wnt pathway and may have effects on dopamine cell development in the ventral midbrain. We conclude that risk for AD is attributable in part to variants in four regions within this cluster: exon 3 of TTC12, exon 12/intron13 of NCAM1 and exons 2 and 5 of ANKK1. The complexity of these relationships, many of which replicate between our independent samples, may explain prior inconsistent results.
Substance dependence diagnoses (SDs) are important risk factors for suicidality. We investigated the associations of multiple SDs with different suicidality outcomes, testing how genetic background ...moderates these associations. The Yale-Penn cohort (N = 15,557) was recruited to investigate the genetics of SDs. The Army STARRS (Study to Assess Risk and Resilience in Servicemembers) cohort (N = 11,236) was recruited to evaluate mental health risk and resilience among Army personnel. We applied multivariate logistic regression to investigate the associations of SDs with suicidality and, in the Yale-Penn cohort, we used the structured linear mixed model (StructLMM) to study multivariate gene-environment interactions. In Yale-Penn, lifetime polysubstance dependence was strongly associated with lifetime suicidality: having five SDs showed an association with suicidality, from odds ratio (OR) = 6.77 (95% confidence interval, CI = 5.74-7.99) for suicidal ideation (SI) to OR = 3.61 (95% CI = 2.7-4.86) for suicide attempt (SA). In Army STARRS, having multiple substance use disorders for alcohol and/or drugs was associated with increased suicidality ranging from OR = 2.88 (95% CI = 2.6-3.19) for SI to OR = 3.92 (95% CI = 3.19-4.81) for SA. In Yale-Penn, we identified multivariate gene-environment interactions (Bayes factors, BF > 0) of SI with respect to a gene cluster on chromosome 16 (LCAT, p = 1.82 × 10
; TSNAXIP1, p = 2.13 × 10
; CENPT, p = 2.32 × 10
; PARD6A, p = 5.57 × 10
) for opioid dependence (BF = 12.2), cocaine dependence (BF = 12.1), nicotine dependence (BF = 9.2), and polysubstance dependence (BF = 2.1). Comorbidity of multiple SDs is a significant associated with suicidality and heritability of suicidality is partially moderated by multivariate gene interactions.
DYX2 on 6p22 is the most replicated reading disability (RD) locus. By saturating a previously identified peak of association with single nucleotide polymorphism markers, we identified a large ...polymorphic deletion that encodes tandem repeats of putative brain-related transcription factor binding sites in intron 2 of DCDC2. Alleles of this compound repeat are in significant disequilibrium with multiple reading traits. RT-PCR data show that DCDC2 localizes to the regions of the brain where fluent reading occurs, and RNA interference studies show that down-regulation alters neuronal migration. The statistical and functional studies are complementary and are consistent with the latest clinical imaging data for RD. Thus, we propose that DCDC2 is a candidate gene for RD.
Substance use disorders (SUDs) are conditions in which the use of legal or illegal substances, such as nicotine, alcohol or opioids, results in clinical and functional impairment. SUDs and, more ...generally, substance use are genetically complex traits that are enormously costly on an individual and societal basis. The past few years have seen remarkable progress in our understanding of the genetics, and therefore the biology, of substance use and abuse. Various studies - including of well-defined phenotypes in deeply phenotyped samples, as well as broadly defined phenotypes in meta-analysis and biobank samples - have revealed multiple risk loci for these common traits. A key emerging insight from this work establishes a biological and genetic distinction between quantity and/or frequency measures of substance use (which may involve low levels of use without dependence), versus symptoms related to physical dependence.
Alcohol drinking and tobacco smoking are hazardous behaviors associated with a wide range of adverse health outcomes. In this study, we explored the association of polygenic risk scores (PRS) related ...to drinks per week, age of smoking initiation, smoking initiation, cigarettes per day, and smoking cessation with 433 psychiatric and behavioral traits in 4498 children and young adults (aged 8-21) of European ancestry from the Philadelphia neurodevelopmental cohort. After applying a false discovery rate multiple testing correction accounting for the number of PRS and traits tested, we identified 36 associations related to psychotic symptoms, emotion and age recognition social competencies, verbal reasoning, anxiety-related traits, parents' education, and substance use. These associations were independent of the genetic correlations among the alcohol-drinking and tobacco-smoking traits and those with cognitive performance, educational attainment, risk-taking behaviors, and psychopathology. The removal of participants endorsing substance use did not affect the associations of each PRS with psychiatric and behavioral traits identified as significant in the discovery analyses. Gene-ontology enrichment analyses identified several neurobiological processes underlying mechanisms of the PRS associations we report. In conclusion, we provide novel insights into the genetic overlap of smoking and drinking behaviors in children and young adults, highlighting their independence from psychopathology and substance use.
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