Genetics and Gene–Environment Interaction

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Torsten Klengel ◽  
Lauren A. M. Lebois ◽  
Sheila Gaynor ◽  
Guia Guffanti
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Factors ◽  
Stress Disorder ◽  
Interindividual Variability ◽  
Traumatic Event ◽  
Environment Interaction ◽  
Gene Environment Interaction ◽  
Gene Environment ◽  
Genetic And Environmental Factors ◽  
Open Question ◽  
Exposure To Trauma

Trauma and stress-related disorders make an excellent case for gene-environment interactions because although exposure to trauma and stress is a well-established risk factors toward their development, such factors alone are not sufficient to explain etiopathogenesis. Exposure to traumatic events is a prerequisite of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnosis, but the majority of individuals who are exposed to even a severe traumatic event do not develop PTSD. Why some individuals are vulnerable and others are resilient remains an open question. While genetic factors may play a significant role, it is conceivable that the complex interplay between genetic and environmental factors contribute to the observed interindividual variability.

Influence of genetic factors and institutional environment on entrepreneurial activity: evidence from a twin study in Italy

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diego Zunino
Keyword(s):  
Twin Study ◽  
Genetic Factors ◽  
Institutional Environment ◽  
Behavioral Genetics ◽  
Entrepreneurial Activity ◽  
Alternative Theory ◽  
Environment Interaction ◽  
Institutional Environments ◽  
Gene Environment Interaction ◽  
Gene Environment

Abstract Genetic factors influence entrepreneurial activity, but we know little about how genetic factors influence entrepreneurial activity when the institutional environment is favorable. Two theories from behavioral genetics explain the gene–environment interaction. One theory argues that a favorable environment favors the development of genetic factors and their influence. An alternative theory posits that unfavorable environment triggers the development of genetic factors and their influence. I test these two competing theories with a twin study based in Italy. I compare the influence of genetic factors in provinces where the institutional environment favors entrepreneurial activity with provinces where the institutional environment is unfavorable to entrepreneurial activity. I found consistent evidence that genetic factors exert a larger influence in favorable institutional environments, suggesting that favorable institutional environments complement genetic factors.

Twin Study on Myopia

1987 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 535-540 ◽  
Author(s):  
L.L.-K. Lin ◽  
C.-J. Chen
Keyword(s):  
Intraclass Correlation ◽  
Correlation Coefficients ◽  
Environment Interaction ◽  
Ophthalmological Examination ◽  
Genetic Determination ◽  
Intraclass Correlation Coefficients ◽  
Gene Environment Interaction ◽  
Gene Environment ◽  
Genetic And Environmental Factors ◽  
Mz Twins

AbstractIn order to reassess the relative importance of genetic and environmental factors in the development of myopia in Chinese schoolchildren, 90 pairs of MZ and 36 pairs of like-sex DZ twins were enrolled for detailed ophthalmological examination about their ocular refractions. Corneal curvatures and axial lengths were also measured. With equivalent settings of the range for concordance, corneal curvatures showed higher concordance rate (84%) than ocular refractions (65%) and axial lenghts (59%) in MZ twins. F-test on the intrapair variances between MZ and DZ twins revealed a significant hereditary role in determining the ocular refraction and its optical components. The degree of genetic determination was expressed by heritability indices, which were derived from intraclass correlation coefficients. The diversity of sample ages and refractions, while making the obtained data difficult to further explore the gene-environment interaction, led to the observation of more intrapair differences with age and myopic progression in MZ twins.

scholarly journals Shorter Adult Stature Increases the Impact of Risk Factors for Cognitive Impairment: A Comparison of Two Nordic Twin Cohorts

2011 ◽  
Vol 14 (6) ◽  
pp. 544-552 ◽  
Author(s):  
Venla S. Laitala ◽  
Jacob Hjelmborg ◽  
Markku Koskenvuo ◽  
Ismo Räihä ◽  
Juha O. Rinne ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
Genetic Factors ◽  
Childhood Adversity ◽  
Environment Interaction ◽  
Gene Environment Interaction ◽  
Gene Environment ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Adult Stature

We analyzed the association between mean height and old age cognition in two Nordic twin cohorts with different childhood living conditions. The cognitive performance of 4720 twin individuals from Denmark (mean age 81.6 years, SD = 4.59) and Finland (mean age 74.4 years, SD = 5.26) was measured using validated cognitive screens. Taller height was associated with better cognitive performance in Finland (β-estimates 0.18 SD/10cm, p value < .001, for men and 0.13 SD, p = .008, for women), but this association was not significant in Denmark (β-estimates 0.0093 SD, p value = .16, for men and 0.0075 SD, p value = .016, for women) when adjusted for age and education/social class. Among Finnish participants higher variability of cognitive performance within shorter height quintiles was observed. Analysis using gene-environment interaction models showed that environmental factors exerted a greater impact on cognitive performance in shorter participants, whereas in taller participants' it was explained mainly by genetic factors. Our results suggest that shorter participants with childhood adversity are more vulnerable to environmental risk factors for cognitive impairment.

scholarly journals Genetic moderation of environmental risk for depression and anxiety in adolescent girls

2001 ◽  
Vol 179 (2) ◽  
pp. 116-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judy Silberg ◽  
Michael Rutter ◽  
Michael Neale ◽  
Lindon Eaves
Keyword(s):  
Life Events ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Genetic Factors ◽  
Negative Life Events ◽  
Genetic Effect ◽  
Environment Interaction ◽  
Gene Environment Interaction ◽  
Gene Environment ◽  
Significant Gene ◽  
Independent Life

BackgroundThere is huge individual variation in people's response to negative life events.AimsTo test the hypothesis that genetic factors moderate susceptibility to the environmentally mediated risks associated with negative life events.MethodThe Virginia Twin Study of Adolescent Behavioral Development (VTSABD) was used to study the effects of independent life events (assessed from maternal interview) on depression/anxiety (assessed from child interview) in 184 same-gender female twin pairs, aged 14–17 years, measured on two occasions.ResultsThere was no genetic effect on the independent negative life events studied. A significant gene–environment interaction was found using structural equation modelling. There was no effect of independent life events on adolescents' depression in the absence of parental emotional disorder, but a significant effect in its presence.ConclusionsThere is an environmentally mediated effect of life events on depression/anxiety. Genetic factors play a significant role in individual differences in susceptibility to these environmentally mediated risks.

scholarly journals Early-onset Alzheimer's disease in Scotland: environmental and familial factors

2001 ◽  
Vol 178 (S40) ◽  
pp. s53-s59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lawrence J. Whalley
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Disease Model ◽  
Environmental Data ◽  
Paternal Age ◽  
Environment Interaction ◽  
Gene Environment Interaction ◽  
Gene Environment ◽  
Genetic And Environmental Factors

BackgroundAlzheimer's disease (AD) is a common, complex, age-related disorder in which both genetic and environmental factors are important.AimsTo integrate recent studies on genetic and environmental factors in AD into a multi-factorial disease model.MethodDisease models to explain gene-environment interaction in cardiovascular disease are related to observations on AD.ResultsInformative, community-based studies on the genetic epidemiology of AD are rare. Putative risk factors from the Scottish studies include increased paternal age in AD men and coal mining as paternal occupation in both AD and vascular dementia. Migration effects suggest that environmental factors in high-incidence AD areas are important during adult life.ConclusionsThe studies summarised do not provide sufficient data to support a single comprehensive disease model of gene-environment interaction in AD. Future studies will require very large (≥600) sample sizes, molecular genetic analysis, and environmental data that span neurodevelopment and the period between disease onset and appearance of clinical symptoms.

Gene–environment interaction

2020 ◽  
pp. 343-358
Author(s):  
Craig Morgan ◽  
Marta Di Forti ◽  
Helen L. Fisher
Keyword(s):  
Mental Disorders ◽  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Statistical Modelling ◽  
Environment Interaction ◽  
Gene Environment Interaction ◽  
Working Definition ◽  
Gene Environment ◽  
Genetic And Environmental Factors ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Study Designs

For all major mental disorders there are many factors that, in combination and through multiple pathways, increase or decrease the risk of onset. These include, to varying degrees, genetic and environmental factors. This chapter provides an introduction, from an epidemiological perspective, to the study of gene–environment interaction. It begins by providing a working definition of gene–environment interaction, rooted in a sufficient causes framework, and then considers, in turn, the prominent puzzles and challenges, including the statistical modelling of interaction, the main study designs (including strengths and weaknesses), measurement of environmental exposures, and required sample sizes. The chapter concludes with a consideration of the implications of recent advances in genetics for studies of gene–environment interaction.

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