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. 2015 Dec 10;12(12):15739-55.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph121215017.

The Influence of Nutritional Factors on Verbal Deficits and Psychopathic Personality Traits: Evidence of the Moderating Role of the MAOA Genotype

Dylan B Jackson  1 , Kevin M Beaver  2   3
Affiliations

The Influence of Nutritional Factors on Verbal Deficits and Psychopathic Personality Traits: Evidence of the Moderating Role of the MAOA Genotype

Dylan B Jackson et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

The current study explores whether: (a) nutritional factors among adolescent males predict their risk of exhibiting verbal deficits and psychopathic traits during adulthood and (b) the link between nutritional factors and these outcomes is conditioned by the MAOA genotype. The study analyzes data from the U.S. National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), a nationally representative, genetically informative sample. We find evidence that meal deprivation increases the likelihood of both verbal deficits and psychopathic personality traits, whereas poor quality nutrition increases the risk of verbal deficits. We detect the presence of a number of gene-environment interactions between measures of food quality and MAOA genotype, but no evidence of GxE in the case of meal deprivation. Limitations are noted and avenues for future research are discussed.

Keywords: MAOA; diet; food quality; genetic risk; males; malnutrition; meal deprivation; moderating effects; psychopathic personality traits; verbal deficits.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Verbal Deficits Percentile Scores by Level of MAOA Activity and Vegetable Consumption When Covariates are at their Mean.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The Expected Effect of Fast Food Consumption on Verbal Deficits by MAOA Genotype When Covariates are at their Mean.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The Expected Effect of Fast Food Consumption on Psychopathic Personality Traits by MAOA Genotype When Covariates are at their Mean.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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