Post-traumatic stress disorder and drug use disorder: examination of aetiological models in a Swedish population-based cohort.

There are two primary phenotypic models of comorbidity between post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and drug use disorder (DUD), i.e. self-medication (PTSD precedes and causes DUD) and susceptibility (DUD precedes and causes PTSD).

Polygenic risk scores and the prediction of onset of mood and psychotic disorders in adolescents and young adults.

Aim: To examine whether polygenic risk scores (PRS) for neuroticism, depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia are higher in individuals manifesting trans-diagnostic risk factors for the development of major mental disorders and whether PRS enhance prediction of early onset full-threshold disorders.

Methods: Using data from the Brisbane Longitudinal Twin Study, we examined individual PRS for neuroticism, depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, recorded evidence of subthreshold syndromes and family history of mood and/or psychotic disorders and noted progression to trans-diagnostic clinical caseness (onset of major mental disorders) at follow-up. We undertook multivariate, receiver operating curve and logistic regression analyses that were adjusted for known variables of influence (age, twin status, and so on).

Polygene risk scores and randomized experiments.

We explore Madole & Harden's (2022) suggestion that single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)/trait correlations are analogous to randomized experiments and thus can be given a causal interpretation.

Migration and risk of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder: A Swedish national study.

Objective: Prior studies report increased risk of schizophrenia (SCZ) in migrants relative to the native-born population; however, few have investigated bipolar disorder (BD) and migrant characteristics which may influence risk. We aimed to examine the risk of SCZ and BD in migrants and their children relative to those of Swedish ancestry, and whether risk varied by age at migration, region of origin, sex, and parental migrant status.

Methods: We conducted a nested case-control study using 5539 SCZ cases and 20,577 BD cases diagnosed 1988-2013, individually matched to five population-based controls by birth year and sex.

The Impact of the Good Behavior Game on Risk for Drug Use Disorder in an Agent-Based Model of Southern Sweden.

Objective: Drug use disorder (DUD) is a worldwide problem, and strategies to reduce its incidence are central to decreasing its burden. This investigation seeks to provide a proof of concept for the ability of agent-based modeling to predict the impact of the introduction of an effective school-based intervention, the Good Behavior Game (GBG), on reducing DUD in Scania, Sweden, primarily through increasing school achievement.

Method: We modified an existing agent-based simulation model of opioid use disorder to represent DUD in Scania County, southern Sweden.

Effects of smoking on genome-wide DNA methylation profiles: A study of discordant and concordant monozygotic twin pairs.

Background: Smoking-associated DNA methylation levels identified through epigenome-wide association studies (EWASs) are generally ascribed to smoking-reactive mechanisms, but the contribution of a shared genetic predisposition to smoking and DNA methylation levels is typically not accounted for.

Methods: We exploited a strong within-family design, that is, the discordant monozygotic twin design, to study reactiveness of DNA methylation in blood cells to smoking and reversibility of methylation patterns upon quitting smoking. Illumina HumanMethylation450 BeadChip data were available for 769 monozygotic twin pairs (mean age = 36 years, range = 18-78, 70% female), including pairs discordant or concordant for current or former smoking.

Genetic associations between alcohol phenotypes and life satisfaction: a genomic structural equation modelling approach.

Alcohol use (i.e., quantity, frequency) and alcohol use disorder (AUD) are common, associated with adverse outcomes, and genetically-influenced.

Missingness adapted group informed clustered (MAGIC)-LASSO: a novel paradigm for phenotype prediction to improve power for genetic loci discovery.

The availability of large-scale biobanks linking genetic data, rich phenotypes, and biological measures is a powerful opportunity for scientific discovery. However, real-world collections frequently have extensive missingness. While missing data prediction is possible, performance is significantly impaired by block-wise missingness inherent to many biobanks.

Common genetic and environmental risk for personality disorders and psychotic-like experiences in young adult twins.

Introduction: Psychotic-like experiences (PLE) have been associated with the subsequent emergence of psychotic disorders as well as several other domains of psychopathology. In this twin study, we estimated the genetic and environmental correlations between PLE and 10 personality disorders (PD).

Methods: Diagnoses of 10 PDs according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) and PLE from the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) were retrieved for 2793 young adult twins from the Norwegian Twin Registry.

The effect of a reduction in irrational beliefs on Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety symptoms in a group treatment for post-9/11 Veterans.

Previous research has indicated that a Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT)-Informed Group focused on changing irrational beliefs to address comorbid depression and anxiety (as well as anger and guilt) in a combat Veteran population diagnosed with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) demonstrated significant reductions in depression and PTSD symptoms at posttreatment. However, mechanisms of change associated with improvement have not been evaluated. REBT theory suggests that a decline in irrational beliefs predicts a decrease in PTSD, depression, and anxiety symptoms.

The moderation of the genetic risk for alcohol and drug use disorders in a Swedish national sample by the genetic aptitude for educational attainment.

Background: Does the genetic aptitude for educational attainment (GAEA) moderate the genetic risk for alcohol use disorder (AUD) and drug use disorder (DUD)?

Methods: In the native Swedish population, born 1960-1980 and followed through 2017 ( = 1 862 435), the family genetic risk score (FGRS) for AUD and DUD and GAEA were calculated from, respectively, the educational attainment and risk for AUD and DUD, of 1st through 5th degree relatives from Swedish national registers. Analyses utilized Aalen's linear hazards models.

Results: Risk for AUD was robustly predicted by the main effects of FGRS [ = 6.

The Nature of the Familial Risk for Psychosis in Bipolar Disorder.

Background And Hypothesis: To clarify whether the familial liability to psychosis associated with bipolar disorder (BD) is nonspecific or has a greater effect on risk for psychosis in cases with prominent mood symptoms and/or a remitting course.

Study Design: We examined, in 984 809 offspring raised in intact families in Sweden, born 1980-1996 and followed-up through 2018, by multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression, risk in offspring of parents with BD for 7 psychotic disorders: Psychotic MD (PMD), psychotic BD (PBD), schizoaffective disorder (SAD), acute psychoses, psychosis NOS, delusional disorder (DD) and schizophrenia (SZ). Diagnoses were obtained from national registers.

Predictors of diagnostic conversion from major depression to bipolar disorder: a Swedish national longitudinal study.

Background: It is clinically important to predict the conversion of major depression (MD) to bipolar disorder (BD). Therefore, we sought to identify related conversion rates and risk factors.

Methods: This cohort study included the Swedish population born from 1941 onward.

Identifying potential risk genes and pathways for neuropsychiatric and substance use disorders using intermediate molecular mediator information.

Neuropsychiatric and substance use disorders (NPSUDs) have a complex etiology that includes environmental and polygenic risk factors with significant cross-trait genetic correlations. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of NPSUDs yield numerous association signals. However, for most of these regions, we do not yet have a firm understanding of either the specific risk variants or the effects of these variants.

Selecting cases of major psychiatric and substance use disorders in Swedish national registries on the basis of clinical features to maximize the strength or specificity of the genetic risk.

We investigate how selection of psychiatric cases by phenotypic criteria can alter the strength and specificity of their genetic risk by examining samples from national Swedish registries for five disorders: major depression (MD, N = 158,557), drug use disorder (DUD, N = 69,841), bipolar disorder (BD, N = 13,530)) ADHD (N = 54,996) and schizophrenia (N = 11,227)). We maximized the family genetic risk score (FGRS) for each disorder and then the specificity of the FGRS in six disorder pairs by univariable and multivariable regression. We use split-half methods to divide our cases for each disorder into deciles for prediction of genetic risk magnitude and quintiles for prediction of specificity by FGRS differences between two disorders.

The circadian clock as a potential biomarker and therapeutic target in pancreatic cancer.

Pancreatic cancer (PC) has a very high mortality rate globally. Despite ongoing efforts, its prognosis has not improved significantly over the last two decades. Thus, further approaches for optimizing treatment are required.

Dimensional and transdiagnostic phenotypes in psychiatric genome-wide association studies.

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) provide biological insights into disease onset and progression and have potential to produce clinically useful biomarkers. A growing body of GWAS focuses on quantitative and transdiagnostic phenotypic targets, such as symptom severity or biological markers, to enhance gene discovery and the translational utility of genetic findings. The current review discusses such phenotypic approaches in GWAS across major psychiatric disorders.

Differentiation of vaginal cells from epidermal cells using morphological and autofluorescence properties: Implications for sexual assault casework involving digital penetration.

Analysis of DNA mixtures from sexual assault evidence is an ongoing challenge for DNA casework laboratories. To assist the forensic scientist address source and activity level propositions there is a significant need for new techniques that can provide information as to the source of DNA, particularly for sexual assault samples that do not involve semen. The goal of this study was to develop a new biological signature system that provides additional probative value to samples comprised of mixtures of epidermal and vaginal cells, as may be observed in cases involving digital penetration.