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. 2021 Aug 10;11(1):423.
doi: 10.1038/s41398-021-01526-0.

The continuity of effect of schizophrenia polygenic risk score and patterns of cannabis use on transdiagnostic symptom dimensions at first-episode psychosis: findings from the EU-GEI study

Collaborators, Affiliations

The continuity of effect of schizophrenia polygenic risk score and patterns of cannabis use on transdiagnostic symptom dimensions at first-episode psychosis: findings from the EU-GEI study

Diego Quattrone et al. Transl Psychiatry. .

Abstract

Diagnostic categories do not completely reflect the heterogeneous expression of psychosis. Using data from the EU-GEI study, we evaluated the impact of schizophrenia polygenic risk score (SZ-PRS) and patterns of cannabis use on the transdiagnostic expression of psychosis. We analysed first-episode psychosis patients (FEP) and controls, generating transdiagnostic dimensions of psychotic symptoms and experiences using item response bi-factor modelling. Linear regression was used to test the associations between these dimensions and SZ-PRS, as well as the combined effect of SZ-PRS and cannabis use on the dimensions of positive psychotic symptoms and experiences. We found associations between SZ-PRS and (1) both negative (B = 0.18; 95%CI 0.03-0.33) and positive (B = 0.19; 95%CI 0.03-0.35) symptom dimensions in 617 FEP patients, regardless of their categorical diagnosis; and (2) all the psychotic experience dimensions in 979 controls. We did not observe associations between SZ-PRS and the general and affective dimensions in FEP. Daily and current cannabis use were associated with the positive dimensions in FEP (B = 0.31; 95%CI 0.11-0.52) and in controls (B = 0.26; 95%CI 0.06-0.46), over and above SZ-PRS. We provide evidence that genetic liability to schizophrenia and cannabis use map onto transdiagnostic symptom dimensions, supporting the validity and utility of the dimensional representation of psychosis. In our sample, genetic liability to schizophrenia correlated with more severe psychosis presentation, and cannabis use conferred risk to positive symptomatology beyond the genetic risk. Our findings support the hypothesis that psychotic experiences in the general population have similar genetic substrates as clinical disorders.

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Conflict of interest statement

M Di Forti reports personal fees from Janssen, outside the submitted work. RM Murray reports personal fees from Janssen, Lundbeck, Sunovion, and Otsuka, outside of the submitted work. M Bernardo reports grants and personal fees from Adamed, Janssen-Cilag, Otsuka, and Abbiotics; personal fees from Angelini and Casen Recordati; and grants from Lundbeck and Takeda, outside of the submitted work. PB Jones reports personal fees from being a member of the scientific advisory boards for Janssen and Recordati, outside of the submitted work. C Arango reports personal fees from Acadia, Ambrosseti, Gedeon Richter, Janssen Cilag, Lundbeck, Merck, Otsuka, Roche, Servier, Shire, Schering Plough, Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma, Sunovion, and Takeda; and grants from CIBERSAM, Familia Alonso, Fundacion Alicia Koplowitz, the European Commission, the Spanish Ministry of Science and Universities, and the Comunidad de Madrid, during the conduct of the study. J Bobes has received research grants and served as consultant, advisor or speaker for AB-Biotics, Acadia Pharmaceuticals, Ambrosseti-Angelini, Casen Recordati, D&A Pharma, Exeltis, Gilead, Indivior, Janssen-Cilag, Lundbeck, Mundipharma, Otsuka, Pfizer, Roche, Sage Therapeutics, Servier, Schwabe Farma Ibérica, Shire, Takeda, research funding from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competiveness –Centro de Investigación Biomedica en Red area de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM) and Instituto de Salud Carlos III-, Spanish Ministry of Health, Social Services and Equality - Plan Nacional sobre Drogas outside of the submitted work. Dr. Diego Quattrone reported no biomedical financial interests or potential conflicts of interest. Dr. Ulrich Reininghaus reported no biomedical financial interests or potential conflicts of interest. Dr. Alexander L Richards reported no biomedical financial interests or potential conflicts of interest. Dr. Giada Tripoli reported no biomedical financial interests or potential conflicts of interest. Dr. Laura Ferraro reported no biomedical financial interests or potential conflicts of interest. Dr. Paolo Marino reported no biomedical financial interests or potential conflicts of interest. Dr. Andrea Quattrone reported no biomedical financial interests or potential conflicts of interest. Dr. Victoria Rodriguez reported no biomedical financial interests or potential conflicts of interest. Dr. Edoardo Spinazzola reported no biomedical financial interests or potential conflicts of interest. Dr. Charlotte Gayer-Anderson reported no biomedical financial interests or potential conflicts of interest. Dr. Hannah E Jongsma reported no biomedical financial interests or potential conflicts of interest. Dr. Caterina La Cascia reported no biomedical financial interests or potential conflicts of interest. Prof. Daniele La Barbera reported no biomedical financial interests or potential conflicts of interest. Dr. Ilaria Tarricone reported no biomedical financial interests or potential conflicts of interest. Dr. Elena Bonora reported no biomedical financial interests or potential conflicts of interest. Dr. Sarah Tosato reported no biomedical financial interests or potential conflicts of interest. Dr. Antonio Lasalvia reported no biomedical financial interests or potential conflicts of interest. Dr. Andrei Szöke reported no biomedical financial interests or potential conflicts of interest. Dr. Cristina Marta Del-Ben reported no biomedical financial interests or potential conflicts of interest. Dr. Paulo Rossi Menezes reported no biomedical financial interests or potential conflicts of interest. Dr. Pierre-Michel Llorca reported no biomedical financial interests or potential conflicts of interest. Dr. Jose Luis Santos reported no biomedical financial interests or potential conflicts of interest. Dr. Julio Sanjuán reported no biomedical financial interests or potential conflicts of interest. Dr. Andrea Tortelli reported no biomedical financial interests or potential conflicts of interest. Dr. Eva Velthorst reported no biomedical financial interests or potential conflicts of interest. Dr. Steven Berendsen reported no biomedical financial interests or potential conflicts of interest. Dr. Lieuwe de Haan reported no biomedical financial interests or potential conflicts of interest. Dr. Bart PF Rutten reported no biomedical financial interests or potential conflicts of interest. Dr. Michael Lynskey reported no biomedical financial interests or potential conflicts of interest. Dr. Tom P Freeman reported no biomedical financial interests or potential conflicts of interest. Dr. James B Kirkbride reported no biomedical financial interests or potential conflicts of interest. Dr. Pak C Sham reported no biomedical financial interests or potential conflicts of interest. Dr. Alastair G Cardno reported no biomedical financial interests or potential conflicts of interest. Dr. Evangelos Vassos reported no biomedical financial interests or potential conflicts of interest. Dr. Michael O’ Donovan is supported by a collaborative research grant from Takeda outside of the submitted work. Dr. Jim van Os reported no biomedical financial interests or potential conflicts of interest. Dr. Craig Morgan reported no biomedical financial interests or potential conflicts of interest. Dr. Cathryn M Lewis reported no biomedical financial interests or potential conflicts of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1. Quantiles of psychosis dimensions in the general population and separately in FEP patients by SZ-PRS.
The violin plots show the distribution of SZ-PRS in the EU-GEI sample by individuals classified according to their score at the positive experience and symptom dimensions, separately in population controls (left side) and FEP patients (right side) at different quantiles (0–25% psychotic experiences or symptoms; 25–75% psychotic experiences or symptoms; 75–100% psychotic experiences or symptoms). Explanatory note: Interquartile range, 95% confidence interval, median and mean are illustrated within the bars. The shape on each side of the bars represents the density distribution. Dots indicate current cannabis use in controls and daily cannabis use in patients (red = no; green = yes).
Fig. 2
Fig. 2. Positive symptom dimension by SZ-PRS and cannabis use in FEP patients.
The graph on the left illustrates the independent and joint effect of daily cannabis use (blue line: no; red line: yes) and SZ-PRS (x axys) on the positive symptom dimension (y axys). The two graphs on the right present the main effect of SZ-PRS (in blue, x axys) and daily cannabis use (in red, x axys) on the positive symptom dimension (y axys). Values are adjusted for age, sex, and 10 ancestry PCs.

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