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

• Published in: Psychiatry research 2024-01, Vol.331, p.115628-115628, Article 115628
• Main Authors: Tesli, Natalia, Jaholkowski, Piotr, Haukvik, Unn K, Jangmo, Andreas, Haram, Marit, Rokicki, Jaroslav, Friestad, Christine, Tielbeek, Jorim J, Næss, Øyvind, Skardhamar, Torbjørn, Gustavson, Kristin, Ask, Helga, Fazel, Seena, Tesli, Martin, Andreassen, Ole A
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Antisocial behavior; Antisocial Personality Disorder - diagnosis; Antisocial Personality Disorder - epidemiology; Antisocial Personality Disorder - genetics; Bullying; Cohort Studies; Comorbidity; Conduct Disorder - diagnosis; Conduct Disorder - epidemiology; Conduct Disorder - genetics; Female; Genetic liability; Humans; MoBa; Polygenic scores; Risk Factors
• ISSN: 0165-1781; 1872-7123
• DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2023.115628

•This is the hitherto most comprehensive characterization of comorbidity patterns, genetic and environmental risk factors for conduct disorder and disruptive behaviour.•Conduct disorder was comorbid with several child and adult-onset mental disorders.•This clinical overlap corresponded with associations between polygenic risk scores for a range of mental disorders and conduct disorder.•These findings suggest that conduct disorder is a less specific precursor to antisocial personality disorder than previously hypothesized.•Exposure to bullying was strongly associated with an increased risk of conduct disorder. 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. [Display omitted]