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Sibling comparisons elucidate the associations between educational attainment polygenic scores and alcohol, nicotine and cannabis
Author(s) -
Salvatore Jessica E.,
Barr Peter B.,
Stephenson Mallory,
Aliev Fazil,
Kuo Sally IChun,
Su Jinni,
Agrawal Arpana,
Almasy Laura,
Bierut Laura,
Bucholz Kathleen,
Chan Grace,
Edenberg Howard J.,
Johnson Emma C.,
McCutcheon Vivia V.,
Meyers Jacquelyn L.,
Schuckit Marc,
Tischfield Jay,
Wetherill Leah,
Dick Danielle M.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
addiction
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.424
H-Index - 193
eISSN - 1360-0443
pISSN - 0965-2140
DOI - 10.1111/add.14815
Subject(s) - sibling , educational attainment , cannabis , confounding , psychology , nicotine , association (psychology) , medicine , demography , clinical psychology , psychiatry , developmental psychology , sociology , economics , economic growth , psychotherapist
Background and Aims The associations between low educational attainment and substance use disorders (SUDs) may be related to a common genetic vulnerability. We aimed to elucidate the associations between polygenic scores for educational attainment and clinical criterion counts for three SUDs (alcohol, nicotine and cannabis). Design Polygenic association and sibling comparison methods. The latter strengthens inferences in observational research by controlling for confounding factors that differ between families. Setting Six sites in the United States. Participants European ancestry participants aged 25 years and older from the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism (COGA). Polygenic association analyses included 5582 (54% female) participants. Sibling comparisons included 3098 (52% female) participants from 1226 sibling groups nested within the overall sample. Measurements Outcomes included criterion counts for DSM‐5 alcohol use disorder (AUDSX), Fagerström nicotine dependence (NDSX) and DSM‐5 cannabis use disorder (CUDSX). We derived polygenic scores for educational attainment ( EduYears‐GPS ) using summary statistics from a large (> 1 million) genome‐wide association study of educational attainment. Findings In polygenic association analyses, higher EduYears‐GPS predicted lower AUDSX, NDSX and CUDSX [ P < 0.01, effect sizes ( R 2 ) ranging from 0.30 to 1.84%]. These effects were robust in sibling comparisons, where sibling differences in EduYears‐GPS predicted all three SUDs ( P < 0.05, R 2 0.13–0.20%). Conclusions Individuals who carry more alleles associated with educational attainment tend to meet fewer clinical criteria for alcohol, nicotine and cannabis use disorders, and these effects are robust to rigorous controls for potentially confounding factors that differ between families (e.g. socio‐economic status, urban–rural residency and parental education).