Proposal summaries
B4595 - The role of rare genetic variants in dyslexia - 23/04/2024
It's estimated that approximately one in ten children struggle with learning to read, a condition known as dyslexia. Dyslexia can have lasting effects on many aspects of life, including academic achievement, job opportunities, self-esteem, social interactions, and overall life satisfaction. These challenges are particularly significant when dyslexia goes undiagnosed, depriving individuals of much-needed support. Undetected dyslexia also contributes to societal costs, such as employment difficulties and mental health issues. Despite these challenges, individuals with dyslexia often possess unique problem-solving skills, yet barriers can limit their contributions to innovation and creativity.
Genetics is the primary known cause of dyslexia. Recently, collaborative research efforts have identified dozens of common genetic risk factors associated with dyslexia for the first time. This discovery underscores the complex nature of dyslexia and parallels findings in other neurodevelopmental disorders. Genetic research for other conditions such as autism, has progressed more rapidly thanks to the availability of large samples. This work has highlighted a crucial role for very rare genetic mutations. We anticipate that such rare variants also play a role in dyslexia. Detecting these rare variants requires genome sequencing technology in large samples.
We're embarking on the largest sequencing project ever conducted for dyslexia, utilizing a unique collection of samples amassed over decades and characterized with high-quality data by multiple research teams with a proven collaborative track record. Our cohort is enriched for severe cases and includes families with multiple affected members.
Our research will deepen our understanding of the genetic risk factors for dyslexia and illuminate the biological pathways involved in dyslexia and brain development. By comparing data with other conditions, we aim to identify genes specifically associated with dyslexia. In the long term, our findings may contribute to the development of early diagnostic strategies. We will share our results with the broader research community, creating a valuable resource for future dyslexia studies and related conditions, such as language disorders, dyscalculia, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Our project offers a unique opportunity to engage with the public and discuss the neurobiological determinants of dyslexia. The Specific Learning Difficulties Network, an initiative we launched in 2022, will provide a platform to engage with different stakeholders, including individuals with lived experiences of dyslexia, teachers, clinicians, and policymakers. Our findings will provide evidence to explain the role of genetics, reduce stigma around dyslexia, and increase awareness.
B4594 - Understanding causality and complexity in the cannabis/mental health relationship - 22/04/2024
The prevalence of affective disorders has been increasing in UK adolescents, along with an increase in treatment-seeking for psychological distress . Anxiety and depression are the largest contributors to the mental health global burden of disease, and there are also indications that incidence of psychosis, a serious mental illness, may be increasing in some areas. Adolescent cannabis use is consistently associated with anxiety and psychosis, with less consistent associations for depression. Cannabis use is highly prevalent in adolescent populations and is commonly identified as a target for intervention to reduce likelihood of mental health disorder onset.
However, we do not yet have good evidence that cannabis causes mental health disorders. If the relationship between cannabis use and mental health outcomes is not causal then intervention on adolescent cannabis use will have no impact on mental health. Complexity is introduced by cannabis use and mental health disorders sharing overlapping genetic and environmental risk factors which may cause them to correlate without a causal relationship, or which may change the relationship between cannabis use and mental health outcomes in individuals with these risk factors.
The overall aim of the fellowship is to improve the evidence base on the relationship between adolescent cannabis use and mental health (anxiety, depression and psychosis). We will be comparing results on the relationship between cannabis use and mental health across different cultures to see if this relationship is consistent, and will be using lngitudinal data to undestand how individual and environmental differences impact on the relationship between cannabis use and mental health.
B4590 - Examining Environmental and Genomic Contributions to Adolescent Risky Behaviors - 17/04/2024
The purpose of this project is to expand the scope of a previous project (B3077) to include a broader range of environmental influences and outcomes pertinent to adolescent development. In this project, environmental influences, particularly during early development, will be examined as predictors of adolescent risk behaviors, such as risky sex, aggressive behavior problems, and delinquency. Genetic and epigenetic contributions will be examined as potential explanations for these associations and/or as controls.
B4580 - Maternal depression during pregnancy and child neurodevelopment and mental health outcomes - 17/04/2024
Prenatal depression presents a burden and potential risks for the expecting women (Chung et al., 2001; Kim et al. 2013) and may have long-term consequences for the child regarding their cognitive, behavioural, and emotional development (Madigan et al., 2018; Rogers et al., 2020). However, there is a lack of large-scale studies investigating the relationship between prenatal maternal depression and child behavioural and emotional development that control for a common set of relevant potential confounding variables. In this project, we aim to study the effects of prenatal maternal depression on children’s long-term behavioural development and mental health, leveraging large-scale, multi-cohort data in the EU Child Cohort Network. As a secondary objective, we plan to disentangle the effects of pre-pregnancy, prenatal and postnatal depression on offspring development. The strength that comes with studying this research question in the LifeCycle cohort is the large amount of harmonised, multi-cohort data available, which allows us to investigate offspring outcomes over time while also controlling for relevant confounding factors. Furthermore, rather than focusing on a single behavioural outcome, our approach will be comprehensive in that it will examine a range of measures including cognition, internalising and externalising behaviour, and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This can aid our understanding of symptom profiles for children prenatally exposed to maternal depression.
B4592 - Investigating the relationship between prenatal alcohol exposure and musculoskeletal impairments - 15/04/2024
Prenatal Alcohol Exposure (PAE) can lead to problems with learning and behaviour, as well as physical abnormalities including distinctive facial features and stunted growth. Existing studies have identified some associations between PAE and a wide variety of other abnormalities including various musculoskeletal (MSK) disorders. Studies on the MSK effects of prenatal alcohol exposure in mice have replicated this finding and found that males were more affected by PAE than females. This has yet to be studied in human participants. Our study seeks to estimate the association between PAE and MSK abnormalities among participants enrolled in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), and assess whether these effects differ between males and females.
B4587 - Dietary patterns at 30 difference in generations and sexes - 12/04/2024
This project will aim to summarise the dietary patterns of the two generations of ALSPAC. The same food frequency questionnaire was administed to both the parents and their 30 year old offspring. Dietary patterns allow us to look at the diet as a whole rather than individiual foods or nutrients to provide an overall summary of dietary intake. Principal Components Analysis will be used - this method uses the existing correlations between food groups to identify those foods and gfood groups that are commonly consumed in combination.
B4589 - Tackling excess energy consumption and obesity ultra processed foods versus foods high in fat salt and/or sugar - 12/04/2024
It is well known that we are in the midst of an obesity epidemic and it's widely accepted that unhealthy eating behaviours are the biggest reason. Recently, the government has focussed on inverventions involving foods and drinks that are high in fat, salt and/or sugar (HFSS). However, this does not take into account the amount of processing that foods undergo - several recent studies have shown that increased consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are related to weight gain. As part of a wider grant, this proposal is specifically to use ALSPAC data collected from dietary diaries in childhood to examine dietary patterns associated with both HFSS and UPFs in the development of obesity.
B4582 - To what extent can genetic factors that are associated with empathy explain individual differences in parenting - 12/04/2024
Parenting is a broad term collating a host of behaviors and emotional responses to one's children. Sensitive and adaptive parenting is considered to reflect the parent's capacity for empathy, i.e., the ability to understand and share in the emotions of others. Interestingly, individual's differences in both parenting and empathy can be partially explained genetic factors. Yet it is still unknown whether genetic predisposition toward empathy can also explain differences in parenting. This project seeks to answer these questions by calculating individuals' empathy polygenic score, that is a score of their genetic potential for empathy, based on a previous genome wide study (N= 46,861, Warrier et al., 2018), and then to examine whether this score is associated with better parenting as measured by questionnaires within the ALSPAC cohort. This study promises to enhance our comprehension of the genetic dimensions of parenting and their interconnectedness with empathy as a fundamental trait. By unraveling these intricate connections, we can foster a more nuanced understanding of the complexities shaping parenting behaviors at the genetic level.
B4584 - Neighbourhood effects and social cognition - 12/04/2024
Examing the factors which shape social cognition (e.g., psychosis-like symptoms and emotional recognition) may help in understanding the precursors for later psychiatric disorders (e.g., schizophrenia) and potentially aid in identifying at-risk individuals and populations. Aspects of the local neighbourhood - such as crime rates and the state of the built environment - may shape our social cognition and therefore be an important modifiable risk factor for the development of such thoughts and behaviours. For instance, levels of threat in the local environment (e.g., crime and antisocial behaviour) may increase the risk of developing paranoid symptoms, a precursor for schizophrenia.
B4585 - Cross-sectional and prospective associations between engagement in the arts and mental health issues - 12/04/2024
This project sets out to investigate whether involvement in the arts is associated with mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, and eating disorders among young people. By analysing data from this large community study tracking the development of young people over time, we aim to explore:
1) Current Relationship: We will look into the connection between participating in the arts and the mental health of young individuals at the same time.
2) Future Impact: We aim to understand if there's a link between participating in the arts at one time and later mental health outcomes of young people. This will help us determine if arts involvement could potentially act as a preventive measure against mental health issues.
By undertaking this careful analysis, we hope to provide high-quality evidence regarding the potential benefits of arts engagement in promoting good mental wellbeing in young people. This research could inform interventions and policies aimed at promoting mental health through creative activities, potentially offering valuable insights into preventive strategies for anxiety, depression, and eating disorders among young individuals.
B4588 - The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on self-harm thoughts and behaviours in the ALSPAC cohort - 12/04/2024
The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic had an immense impact on people’s lives worldwide. This may be particularly true for those with mental health issues. In the UK, presentations to hospitals for self-harm decreased markedly during the early period of the pandemic, before returning to normal levels (Paterson et al., 2023). This reduction was also reported in a systematic review (John, Eyles et al. 2020). However, one study found increased cases of self-harm thoughts in the emergency department, particularly for adolescent females (Sara, Wu et al. 2023). Patterns also differed according to factors such as socioeconomic status and age (Sara, Wu et al. 2023).
Results from a population-based survey suggest that suicidal thoughts and anxiety disorders increased during the pandemic, particularly among young adults, lower socioeconomic groups, and those with a history of mental health conditions (O'Connor, Wetherall et al. 2021). However, a population-wide data linkage study found unchanged patterns among individuals aged over 65 years, people living alone, or residents of affluent areas (Paterson et al., 2023). In another study, factors found to influence hospital presentations for self-harm during COVID-19 in the UK included COVID-19 infection, lockdown restrictions, limited access to psychiatric healthcare services, isolation, and mental health problems (Hawton, Lascelles et al. 2021).
The objective of this project is to identify the factors associated with self-harm thoughts and behaviours among young adults in the ALSPAC cohort during COVID-19. The study will contribute to the existing literature by using ALSPAC pre and post-pandemic data, collected prospectively, to identify different risk factors for self-harm thoughts and behaviours in the population. We will examine ten different risk factors related to self-harm thoughts and behaviours including participants’ demographics, mental health and personality, physical factors, and protective factors.
B4586 - Multi-modal indices of connection in mother-infant relationships in UK and South Africa the role of mutual touch and eye gaze - 17/04/2024
Therefore, the primary objective of this study is to gain a deeper understanding of infant-mother touch and eye gaze, particularly examining; Are there more or lesser amounts of touch behaviour, gaze in UK vs South Africa caregivers, and are there similar or distinct connections between touch, eye gaze and positive emotional expression?
This is a project which is part of a project we already have approved (B4039), but Matt Hardcastle requested we need to submit a new proposal as the data will be used in Deborah's thesis.
B4530 - Association between Visceral Adiposity Index and risk of hypertension among adolescents - 10/04/2024
This project aims to explore the association between Visceral adipose index (VAI) and hypertension in adolescents in order to make the primary screening and prevention of hypertension among the adolescent population more convenient, thereby reducing the morbidity of hypertension.
B4579 - The dominance dynamic in the family social control prestige attachment style and downstream consequences - 09/04/2024
Attachment insecurity (e.g., attachment avoidance and anxiety) is a fundamental characteristic linked to how people engage with and experience power dynamics inherent in social relationships. Social power motives (e.g. dominance, prestige) also predict various behaviours, preferences for, and experiences of social relationships, many of which overlap those connected to attachment insecurity. However, there is no extant work directly linking attachment insecurity to social power motives.
Yet there is ample evidence to hypothesize a relationship. The power motives are associated with the quality and outcomes of various close relationships, including friendships and romantic partnerships. A stronger general power motive in men is linked to breakups, intimate partner violence, and sexual coercion in romantic relationships. In non-romantic friendships, power motives predicts fewer dyadic interactions, increased frustration and guilt in friendship episodes, and more instrumental, assertive, and self-expansive striving in friendship. Similar outcomes have also been linked to differences in adult attachment orientations, suggesting a possible link between power motives and attachment orientations. On the other hand early-life attachment insecurity is also related to important later life outcome variables, such as antisocial behaviour and mental health. Might this relationship be mediated by individuals’ goals are and the way they behave, which are captured by dimensions of social power?
The aims of this project are to look at several factors in an individual’s upbringing, including attachment style, parental personality, socioeconomic status, and parental dynamics, to see how these factors are linked to dominance and prestige seeking personality traits, as well as life outcome variables.
B4565 - Investigating the Influence of Problem Gambling and Socioeconomic Factors on Suicidality and Negative Mental Health - 03/04/2024
Recent analysis of longitudinal cohort studies suggests that problem gambling in young adults is associated with subsequent suicide attempts and suicidal thoughts. Our study proposes to replicate these findings in a new cohort (ALSPAC), and expand upon the existing research by investigating whether socioeconomic status factors interact with these relationships, if they exist. Socioeconomic factors are associated with problem gambling and suicidality, but little is known about whether they interact to increase the risk of suicidality. We also hope to investigate if other gambling factors, such as gambling frequency, predict suicidality, as well as investigating if gambling behaviour predicts other negative mental health outcomes, such as self-harm, depressive mood and negative well-being. As problem gambling and suicidality are both public health issues, especially amongst young adults in the UK, understanding the relationships and mechanisms of these problems is important. It is hoped that this research can reveal potential negative mental-health consequences of problem gambling and help identify populations who may be at specific risk of these negative consequences, such as those with lower socioeconomic status. Thus, evidence from this study may inform gambling reduction or suicide prevention strategies to improve their effectiveness and improve the lives of those who may be at risk of gambling problems or suicide.
B4575 - Adverse health outcomes in offspring following in utero exposure to maternal medication - 12/04/2024
Pregnancy is a vulnerable period when the foetus undergoes rapid development; therefore, exposure to adverse risk factors can have lifelong implications. Use of medicines during pregnancy is avoided where possible but is sometimes unavoidable. Whilst acute adverse effects following foetal exposure in utero have been assessed for several medicines, possible longer-term effects are not well understood. In particular, their effect on dental and oral outcomes is poorly understood. Using ALSPAC health data will enable us to do novel research to improve our understanding of the effects of taking medication during pregnancy on the child’s oral and dental health and development.
B4572 - Does climate anxiety impact subsequent mental health - 26/03/2024
Climate change is increasingly affecting our planet, impacting people’s health, security and livelihood, as well as wider biodiversity. Given this, it is perhaps not surprising that many studies have identified ‘climate anxiety’ (or ‘eco-anxiety’) as an emotional response to these events. Numerous studies have found that anxiety regarding climate change is associated with worse mental health, such as higher rates of depressive and anxiety symptoms, although the majority of these studies are small, cross-sectional and from unrepresentative samples, limiting both generalisability and the extent to which causal conclusions can be drawn. There is therefore a need to explore these questions using data from a large-scale longitudinal population-based study; this is what we intend to do here, using data from ALSPAC.
B4573 - Using statistical and machine learning approaches to predict bone health from physical activity measured with accelerometers - 26/03/2024
Weight bearing physical activity is known to be beneficial for bone health. Predicting future bone health from accelerometer data may be useful to inform targeted interventions. We will use machine learning and statistical approaches to determine the extent to which bone health can be predicted from physical activity measured with accelerometers.
B4574 - Epigenome-wide association study of exposure to air pollution and NDVI - 26/03/2024
Changes in DNA methylation have been associated with exposure to air pollution and other environmental exposures. However, it is yet unclear whether early life developmental sensitivity or the accumulation of exposures have the most significant effects.
This study will analyse the association of air pollution and normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI) with DNA methylation at different ages.
B4578 - Genome-Wide Association Study of Blood Pressure and the influence of education - 26/03/2024
The Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology (CHARGE) consortium is an international organization founded to facilitate large-scale genetic studies among multiple large and well-characterised groups of participants.
The goal of the CHARGE studies is to identify susceptibility genes involved in diseases of the heart, lung, and blood and their risk factors.
In our study, we will analyse the association of gene variants with blood pressure, considering the effect of the educational level in ALSPAC participants. The results will be combined with results from other groups of participants around the world to be able to identify new gene variants that help understand the biology of blood pressure.