BackgroundSymptoms related to mood and anxiety disorders (emotional disorders) often present in childhood and adolescence. Some of the genetic liability for mental disorders, and emotional and behavioral difficulties seems to be shared. Yet, it is unclear how genetic liability for emotional disorders and related traits influence trajectories of childhood behavioral and emotional difficulties, and if specific developmental patterns are associated with higher genetic liability for these disorders.MethodsThis study uses data from a genotyped sample of children (n = 54,839) from the Norwegian Mother, Father, and Child Cohort Study (MoBa). We use latent growth models (1.5–5 years) and latent profile analyses (1.5–8 years) to quantify childhood trajectories and profiles of emotional and behavioral difficulties and diagnoses. We examine associations between these trajectories and profiles with polygenic scores for bipolar disorder (PGSBD), anxiety (PGSANX), depression (PGSDEP), and neuroticism (PGSNEUR).ResultsAssociations between PGSDEP, PGSANX, and PGSNEUR, and emotional and behavioral difficulties in childhood were more persistent than age‐specific across early childhood (1.5–5 years). Higher PGSANX and PGSDEP were associated with steeper increases in behavioral difficulties across early childhood. Latent profile analyses identified five profiles with different associations with emotional disorder diagnosis. All PGS were associated with the probability of classification into profiles characterized by some form of difficulties (vs. a normative reference profile), but only PGSBD was uniquely associated with a single developmental profile.ConclusionsGenetic risk for mood disorders and related traits contribute to both a higher baseline level of, and a more rapid increase in, emotional and behavioral difficulties across early and middle childhood, with some indications for disorder‐specific profiles. Our findings may inform research on developmental pathways to emotional disorders and the improvement of initiatives for early identification and targeted intervention.

中文翻译：

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童年时期的情绪和行为困难轨迹与情绪和焦虑障碍的多基因易感性有关


背景与情绪和焦虑障碍（情绪障碍）相关的症状通常出现在儿童期和青少年期。精神障碍的一些遗传责任以及情绪和行为困难似乎是相同的。然而，目前尚不清楚情绪障碍的遗传易感性和相关特征如何影响儿童行为和情绪困难的轨迹，以及特定的发育模式是否与这些障碍的较高遗传易感性有关。方法本研究使用来自挪威母亲、父亲和儿童队列研究 （MoBa） 的儿童基因型样本 （n = 54,839） 的数据。我们使用潜在生长模型 （1.5-5 岁） 和潜在概况分析 （1.5-8 岁） 来量化童年轨迹以及情绪和行为困难和诊断的概况。我们检查了这些轨迹和概况与双相情感障碍 （PGSBD） 、焦虑 （PGSANX）、抑郁 （PGSDEP） 和神经质 （PGSNEUR） 的多基因评分之间的关联。结果PGSDEP、PGSANX 和 PGSNEUR 之间的关联以及儿童期的情绪和行为困难在整个儿童早期 （1.5-5 岁） 比特定年龄更持久。较高的 PGSANX 和 PGSDEP 与儿童早期行为困难的急剧增加有关。潜在概况分析确定了 5 个与情绪障碍诊断具有不同关联的概况。所有 PGS 都与分类为以某种形式困难为特征的概况（与规范参考概况相比）的概率相关，但只有 PGSBD 与单一发育概况唯一相关。结论情绪障碍的遗传风险和相关特征导致儿童早期和中期情绪和行为困难的基线水平较高，并且增加速度更快，有一些疾病特异性特征的迹象。我们的研究结果可能为研究情绪障碍的发育途径以及改进早期识别和有针对性的干预举措提供信息。