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Antisocial behavior may be strongly genetic

Antisocial behavior may be highly polygenic with potential heterogeneous genetic effects among sexes, according to recent findings.

“Antisocial behavior covers a range of inappropriate behaviors that cause harm to others, the community and the environment. These behaviors include aggression, hostility, theft, deceitfulness and violent felonies. In addition to the monetary effects, violent criminal behavior also has significant social and emotional costs,” Jorim J. Tielbeek, MSc, of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, and colleagues wrote.

“In addition, [antisocial behavior] has high comorbidity with other psychiatric traits and maladaptive behaviors. Therefore, identification of the causal mechanisms that underlie [antisocial behavior] is important to identify prevention and treatment modalities,” they wrote.

To identify causal genetic variants of antisocial behavior, researchers analyzed genome-wide association data from five large population-based cohorts (n = 16,400) and three target samples (n = 9,381) with genome-wide genotype and antisocial behavior data.

Researchers found three “promising” loci with sex-discordant associations, including chromosome 1: rs2764450; chromosome 11: rs11215217; and chromosome X: rs41456347.

Polygenic risk score analyses indicated prediction of antisocial phenotypes in the Finnish Crime Study and shared genetic origin with conduct problems in a population-based sample, but not with conduct disorder in a substance-dependent sample.

There was an inverse genetic association between antisocial behavior and educational attainment (P = .005).

“Our study suggests that [antisocial behavior] may be highly polygenic and has potential heterogeneous genetic associations across sex. As large-scale initiatives, such as the [Broad Antisocial Behavior Consortium], continue to increase, these collaborative efforts will also facilitate the conduct of epidemiologic studies that incorporate genome-wide data and environmental factors in a joint analysis,” the researchers concluded. – by Amanda Oldt

Disclosures: Tielbeek reports no relevant financial disclosures. Please see the study for all other authors’ relevant financial disclosures.