Conduct disorder - a comprehensive exploration of comorbidity patterns, genetic and environmental risk factors

Journal article

Conduct disorder (CD), a common mental disorder in children and adolescents, is characterized by antisocial behavior. Despite similarities with antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) and possible diagnostic continuity, CD has been shown to precede a range of adult-onset mental disorders. Additionally, little is known about the putative shared genetic liability between CD and adult-onset mental disorders and the underlying gene-environment interplay. Here, we interrogated comorbidity between CD and other mental disorders from the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study (n = 114 500) and investigated how polygenic risk scores (PRS) for mental health traits were associated with CD/CD traits in childhood and adolescence. Gene-environment interplay patterns for CD was explored with data on bullying and parental education. We found CD to be comorbid with several child and adult-onset mental disorders. This phenotypic overlap corresponded with associations between PRS for mental disorders and CD. Additionally, our findings support an additive gene-environment model. Previously conceptualized as a precursor of ASPD, we found that CD was associated with polygenic risk for several child- and adult-onset mental disorders. High comorbidity of CD with other psychiatric disorders reflected on the genetic level should inform research studies, diagnostic assessments and clinical follow-up of this heterogenous group.

Authors: Tesli, N; Jaholkowski, P; Haukvik, UK; Jangmo, A; Haram, M

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Journal: Psychiatry Research
• Volume: 331
• Article number: 115628
• Publication date: 2023-11-25
• Acceptance date: 2023-11-24
• DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2023.115628
• EISSN: 1872-7123
• ISSN: 0165-1781
• Pmid: 38029627
• Language: English
• Keywords: genetic liability; polygenic scores; bullying; antisocial behavior; MoBa