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. 2022 May;52(7):1356-1364.
doi: 10.1017/S0033291720003189. Epub 2020 Sep 14.

Polygenic risk for ADHD and ASD and their relation with cognitive measures in school children

Sofía Aguilar-Lacasaña  1   2 , Natàlia Vilor-Tejedor  3   4   5 , Philip R Jansen  6   7 , Mònica López-Vicente  7 , Mariona Bustamante  2   3   8   9 , Miguel Burgaleta  10 , Jordi Sunyer  2   8   9   11 , Silvia Alemany  2   8   9
Affiliations

Polygenic risk for ADHD and ASD and their relation with cognitive measures in school children

Sofía Aguilar-Lacasaña et al. Psychol Med. 2022 May.

Abstract

Background: Attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are child-onset neurodevelopmental disorders frequently accompanied by cognitive difficulties. In the current study, we aim to examine the genetic overlap between ADHD and ASD and cognitive measures of working memory (WM) and attention performance among schoolchildren using a polygenic risk approach.

Methods: A total of 1667 children from a population-based cohort aged 7-11 years with data available on genetics and cognition were included in the analyses. Polygenic risk scores (PRS) were calculated for ADHD and ASD using results from the largest GWAS to date (N = 55 374 and N = 46 351, respectively). The cognitive outcomes included verbal and numerical WM and the standard error of hit reaction time (HRTSE) as a measure of attention performance. These outcomes were repeatedly assessed over 1-year period using computerized version of the Attention Network Test and n-back task. Associations were estimated using linear mixed-effects models.

Results: Higher polygenic risk for ADHD was associated with lower WM performance at baseline time but not over time. These findings remained significant after adjusting by multiple testing and excluding individuals with an ADHD diagnosis but were limited to boys. PRS for ASD was only nominally associated with an increased improvement on verbal WM over time, although this association did not survive multiple testing correction. No associations were observed for HRTSE.

Conclusions: Common genetic variants related to ADHD may contribute to worse WM performance among schoolchildren from the general population but not to the subsequent cognitive-developmental trajectory assessed over 1-year period.

Keywords: ADHD; ASD; cognition; polygenic risk score; working memory.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Flow chart depicting the final sample size for the outcomes analyzed including hit reaction time (HRT-SE) of ANT as a measure of HRTSE and d′ values from the 3-back task with words and numbers as stimuli as measures of WM. Solid lines and boxes represent individuals remaining in the study, dashed lines and boxes represent individuals excluded. Reason and number of individuals excluded are indicated in dashed boxes.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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