COMT and prenatal maternal smoking in associations with conduct problems and crime: the Pelotas 1993 birth cohort study

Salatino-Oliveira, Angélica; Murray, Joseph A.; Kieling, Christian; Genro, Júlia Pasqualini; Polanczyk, Guilherme; Anselmi, Luciana; Wehrmeister, Fernando César; Barros, Fernando C.; Menezes, Ana Maria Baptista; Rohde, Luís Augusto; Hutz, Mara Helena

doi:10.1038/srep29900

Cited by 11 publications

(5 citation statements)

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“…The findings of the present study nominate a contextual childhood risk factor, poverty, as a better predictor of a criminal conviction than perinatal risk factors. Unlike previous investigations, criminal conviction was not associated with externalizing problems 19 , maternal psychiatric diagnosis 30 , lower family control 15 or child maltreatment 11 . The results were consistent in sensitivity analysis.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 86%

Childhood individual and family modifiable risk factors for criminal conviction: a 7-year cohort study from Brazil

Ziebold

Evans‐Lacko

Andrade

et al. 2022

Sci Rep

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Crime is a major public problem in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and its preventive measures could have great social impact. The extent to which multiple modifiable risk factors among children and families influence juvenile criminal conviction in an LMIC remains unexplored; however, it is necessary to identify prevention targets. This study examined the association between 22 modifiable individual and family exposures assessed in childhood (5–14 years, n = 2511) and criminal conviction at a 7-year follow-up (13–21 years, n = 1905, 76% retention rate) in a cohort of young people in Brazil. Population attributable risk fraction (PARF) was computed for significant risk factors. Criminal convictions were reported for 81 (4.3%) youths. Although most children living in poverty did not present criminal conviction (89%), poverty at baseline was the only modifiable risk factor significantly associated with crime (OR 4.14, 99.8% CI 1.38–12.46) with a PARF of 22.5% (95% CI 5.9–36.1%). It suggests that preventing children’s exposure to poverty would reduce nearly a quarter of subsequent criminal convictions. These findings highlight the importance of poverty in criminal conviction, as it includes several deprivations and suggest that poverty eradication interventions during childhood may be crucial for reducing crime among Brazilian youth.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 86%

Childhood individual and family modifiable risk factors for criminal conviction: a 7-year cohort study from Brazil

Ziebold

Evans‐Lacko

Andrade

et al. 2022

Sci Rep

Self Cite

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“…Prenatal anxiety has also previously been associated with DNA methylation in cord blood, presumably through stress hormones affecting the regulation of placental barrier genes (Monk et al., ). Of interest, both prenatal maternal smoking and internalizing problems have been associated with child externalizing problems in genetically sensitive designs (Salatino‐Oliveira et al., ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Methylome‐Wide Association Study of Trajectories of Oppositional Defiant Behaviors and Biological Overlap With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

et al. 2017

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In 671 mother–child (49% male) pairs from an epidemiological birth cohort, we investigated (a) prospective associations between DNA methylation (at birth) and trajectories (ages 7–13) of oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), and the ODD subdimensions of irritable and headstrong; (b) common biological pathways, indexed by DNA methylation, between ODD trajectories and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD); (c) genetic influence on DNA methylation; and (d) prenatal risk exposure associations. Methylome‐wide significant associations were identified for the ODD and headstrong, but not for irritable. Overlap analysis indicated biological correlates between ODD, headstrong, and ADHD. DNA methylation in ODD and headstrong was (to a degree) genetically influenced. DNA methylation associated with prenatal risk exposures of maternal anxiety (headstrong) and cigarette smoking (ODD and headstrong).

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“…A study examining the interaction between maternal smoking during pregnancy and Val158Met on aggressive behaviors in adolescents found that while Val158Met alone did not significantly predict aggressive behaviors, youth with the Val/Val genotype and with mothers who smoked during pregnancy exhibited the highest rate of aggressive behaviors [72]. On the other hand, Salatino-Oliveira et al [73] demonstrated that neither Val158Met alone nor in interaction with maternal smoking had significant effects on the conduct scores or crime rate in youth [73], similar to a previous study on youth conduct scores [74].…”

Section: Environmental Factorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

COMT Val/Met and Psychopathic Traits in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review and New Evidence of a Developmental Trajectory toward Psychopathy

Kant

Koyama

Zai

et al. 2022

IJMS

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Psychopathic traits in youth may lead to adult criminal behaviors/psychopathy. The Val158Met polymorphism of catechol-o-methyltransferase (COMT) may influence the risk for psychopathy-related behaviors, while acting as a biomarker for predicting treatment response to dopaminergic medications. The literature shows inconsistent findings, making the interpretation of COMT’s role difficult. The aims of this article are (i) to conduct a systematic review to analyze the effects of COMT Val158Met on psychopathic traits in children and adolescents, and (ii) to present new evidence on the developmental trajectory of the association of Val158Met and youth psychopathic traits. For the systematic review, a literature search was conducted using PubMed, EMBASE, OVID Medline and PsychINFO with the search terms for psychopathic traits, Val158Met and age of interest. In our genotype study, the COMT Val158Met genotype of 293 youth with European ancestry was analyzed in association with the psychopathy-related behavior scores from the Child Behavior Checklist and the Psychopathy Screening Device. To examine the potential influence of developmental changes, the sample was split into at or above and below age 13, and analyses were performed in males and females separately. The literature search yielded twenty-eight articles to be included in the systematic review, which demonstrated mixed results on the association depending on environmental factors, sex ratios, age groups and behavioral disorder diagnoses. The results from our genotype study revealed that Met homozygous youth in the below age 13 group and conversely Val carrier youth in the above age 13 group were more likely to display psychopathic traits. To our knowledge, this is the first study to systematically review the effects of COMT Val158Met on psychopathic traits in childhood and adolescence, and to provide new evidence on the changing effects of Val158Met on psychopathy-related behaviors with development. Elucidating the role of the COMT genotype in conjunction with the child versus adolescent stage of development for psychopathic traits may help predict treatment response, and may lead to early intervention and prevention strategies.

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COMT and prenatal maternal smoking in associations with conduct problems and crime: the Pelotas 1993 birth cohort study

Cited by 11 publications

References 50 publications

Childhood individual and family modifiable risk factors for criminal conviction: a 7-year cohort study from Brazil

Childhood individual and family modifiable risk factors for criminal conviction: a 7-year cohort study from Brazil

A Methylome‐Wide Association Study of Trajectories of Oppositional Defiant Behaviors and Biological Overlap With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

COMT Val/Met and Psychopathic Traits in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review and New Evidence of a Developmental Trajectory toward Psychopathy

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