Polygenic risk scores for Alzheimer's disease, and academic achievement, cognitive and behavioural measures in children from the general population
- PMID: 31056667
- PMCID: PMC6929531
- DOI: 10.1093/ije/dyz080
Polygenic risk scores for Alzheimer's disease, and academic achievement, cognitive and behavioural measures in children from the general population
Abstract
Objective: Several studies report a polygenic component of risk for Alzheimer's disease. Understanding whether this polygenic signal is associated with educational, cognitive and behavioural outcomes in children could provide an earlier window for intervention.
Methods: We examined whether polygenic risk scores (PRS) at varying P-value thresholds in children from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children were associated with academic achievement, cognitive and behavioural measures in childhood and adolescence.
Results: We did not detect any evidence that the genome-wide significant PRS (5x10-8) were associated with these outcomes. PRS at the highest P-value threshold examined (P ≤ 5x10-1) were associated with lower academic achievement in adolescents (Key Stage 3; β: -0.03; 95% confidence interval: -0.05, -0.003) but the effect was attenuated when single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with educational attainment were removed. These PRS were associated with lower IQ (β: -0.04; 95% CI: -0.07, -0.02) at age 8 years with the effect remaining after removing SNPs associated with educational attainment.
Conclusions: SNPs mediating the biological effects of Alzheimer's disease are unlikely to operate early in life. The evidence of association between PRS for Alzheimer's disease at liberal thresholds and cognitive measures suggest shared genetic pathways between Alzheimer's disease, academic achievement and cognition.
Keywords: ALSPAC; Alzheimer’s disease; behavioural; cognitive; polygenic risk scores.
© The Author(s) 2019. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Epidemiological Association.
Figures

References
-
- Alzheimer’s Association. 2015 Alzheimer’s disease facts and figures. Alzheimers Dement 2015;11:332–84. - PubMed
-
- Geda YE, Knopman DS, Mrazek DA. et al. Depression, apolipoprotein E genotype, and the incidence of mild cognitive impairment: a prospective cohort study. Arch Neurol 2006;63:435–40. - PubMed
-
- Gallagher D, Coen R, Kilroy D. et al. Anxiety and behavioural disturbance as markers of prodromal Alzheimer’s disease in patients with mild cognitive impairment. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry 2011;26:166–72. - PubMed
Publication types
MeSH terms
Grants and funding
- U24 AG021886/AG/NIA NIH HHS/United States
- U01 AG032984/AG/NIA NIH HHS/United States
- U01 AG016976/AG/NIA NIH HHS/United States
- MC_UU_00011/1/MRC_/Medical Research Council/United Kingdom
- R01 HL105756/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/United States
- 076467/Z/05/Z/WT_/Wellcome Trust/United Kingdom
- R01 AG033193/AG/NIA NIH HHS/United States
- MR/M020894/1/MRC_/Medical Research Council/United Kingdom
- MR/P014437/1/MRC_/Medical Research Council/United Kingdom
- WT_/Wellcome Trust/United Kingdom
- 102215/2/13/2/WT_/Wellcome Trust/United Kingdom
- G9815508/MRC_/Medical Research Council/United Kingdom
- MC_UU_00011-1/MRC_/Medical Research Council/United Kingdom
- MC_PC_19009/MRC_/Medical Research Council/United Kingdom
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Medical