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Using Cholesky Decomposition to Explore Individual Differences in Longitudinal Relations between Reading Skills
Published on: September 17, 2019
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Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms Associated with Reading Ability Show Connection to Socio-Economic Outcomes
Michelle Luciano1, Saskia P Hagenaars2,3, Simon R Cox2
1Department of Psychology, School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, The University of Edinburgh, 7 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9JZ, UK. michelle.luciano@ed.ac.uk.
Behavior Genetics
|July 17, 2017
Summary
Genetic factors influence reading and language difficulties, impacting adult life outcomes like income and health. These genetic links suggest pathways beyond general cognitive ability, highlighting specific genetic effects on social outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Behavioral Genetics
- Neuroscience
- Genomics
Background:
- Reading and language impairments negatively affect life outcomes.
- The extent of genetic influence on this association is not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the genetic underpinnings of the association between reading and language difficulties and various life outcomes.
- To construct and utilize polygenic scores to assess genetic effects on health, socioeconomic status, and brain structure.
Main Methods:
- Genome-wide data from ~6,600 individuals were used to create polygenic scores for reading and language difficulties.
- These scores were tested for association with adult outcomes (N=111,749), including income, education, self-rated health, and cognitive reasoning.
- Genetic correlations were examined with childhood intelligence and educational attainment.
Main Results:
- Polygenic risk for reading difficulties was linked to lower income, educational attainment, self-rated health, and verbal-numerical reasoning.
- Polygenic risk for language difficulties predicted reduced income.
- Observed associations largely persisted even after accounting for polygenic scores of cognitive ability and educational attainment, suggesting non-overlapping genetic effects.
Conclusions:
- Genetic factors play a role in the association between reading/language difficulties and adverse adult outcomes.
- The findings suggest that genetic influences on social outcomes are not solely mediated by general cognitive ability or educational attainment.
- Further research using Mendelian randomization is needed to clarify causal relationships.
Keywords:
Cross-trait linkage disequilibrium regressionGenetic correlationMRIPolygenic scoresUK BiobankMore Related Videos
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