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Filename: views/programma_sessie_v3.php
Line Number: 132
Locatie(s): Auditorium 2
Categorie(ën): Epidemiologie; Symposium
Variability in response among people exposed to the same environmental risk implies that individual differences in genetic susceptibility might be at work. A decade ago, Caspi and colleagues showed that genetic variants moderate the influence of environment on psychopathology. These finding were followed by numerous replication attempts. Inconsistency in replication fuelled a debate about the validity of GxEs.
METHOD
In the Generation R Study, we extracted DNA from cord blood in 5,908 children and 8,055 mothers. Both child and maternal candidate gene-environment studies of child development up to age 5 were performed.
RESULTS
We found little evidence of interaction effects of genetic variations such as DRD4, 5HTTLPR, COMT or BDNF. However, we found evidence that genes related to the HPA-axis impact on child emotion regulation. FKBP5 affected cortisol reactivity, particularly in children with an insecure-resistant attachment. Most importantly, Generation R provided empirical evidence that effects of fetal programming are moderated by the 5-HTTLPR.
CONCLUSION
Our findings suggest that 5-HTTLPR moderates the impact of the environment on the child, influencing the risk for emotional problems later in life. The impact of moderation of 5-HTTLPR does not lie in the magnitude of the effect, but lies in the non-specificity.