Childhood trajectories of emotional and behavioral difficulties are related to polygenic liability for mood and anxiety disorders

Background: Symptoms 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.

Methods: This 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 (PGS_BD), anxiety (PGS_ANX), depression (PGS_DEP), and neuroticism (PGS_NEUR).

Results: Associations between PGS_DEP, PGS_ANX, and PGS_NEUR, and emotional and behavioral difficulties in childhood were more persistent than age-specific across early childhood (1.5-5 years). Higher PGS_ANX and PGS_DEP 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 PGS_BD was uniquely associated with a single developmental profile.

Conclusions: Genetic 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.