Individual Differences in Childhood Behavior Disorders Associated With Epigenetic Modulation of the Cortisol Receptor Gene

Mark R. Dadds; Caroline Moul; David J. Hawes; Antonio Mendoza Diaz; John Brennan

doi:10.1111/cdev.12391

Individual Differences in Childhood Behavior Disorders Associated With Epigenetic Modulation of the Cortisol Receptor Gene

Mark R. Dadds^*, Caroline Moul, David J. Hawes, Antonio Mendoza Diaz, John Brennan

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

42 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Behavioral/emotional difficulties in children are the first sign of mental health problems. These problems are however, heterogeneous. A domain that may identify homogenous subgroups is hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal function. This study tested whether epigenetic regulation of glucocorticoid receptor gene could explain the co-occurrence of anxiety problems in children with behavior problems. Four- to 16-year-old clinically referred children (N = 241) were measured for psychiatric symptoms, methylation of target CpG sites in blood or saliva, and morning cortisol levels in those who gave blood. Increased methylation of promoter 1F CpG sites was associated with higher vulnerability to co-occurring internalizing symptoms and morning cortisol. The results support increasing optimism that epigenetic regulation of key neuroendocrine systems might help explain hitherto unfathomable individual differences in susceptibility to psychiatric symptom profiles.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1311-1320
Number of pages	10
Journal	Child Development
Volume	86
Issue number	5
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12391
Publication status	Published - 1 Sept 2015
Externally published	Yes

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abstract = "Behavioral/emotional difficulties in children are the first sign of mental health problems. These problems are however, heterogeneous. A domain that may identify homogenous subgroups is hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal function. This study tested whether epigenetic regulation of glucocorticoid receptor gene could explain the co-occurrence of anxiety problems in children with behavior problems. Four- to 16-year-old clinically referred children (N = 241) were measured for psychiatric symptoms, methylation of target CpG sites in blood or saliva, and morning cortisol levels in those who gave blood. Increased methylation of promoter 1F CpG sites was associated with higher vulnerability to co-occurring internalizing symptoms and morning cortisol. The results support increasing optimism that epigenetic regulation of key neuroendocrine systems might help explain hitherto unfathomable individual differences in susceptibility to psychiatric symptom profiles.",

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AU - Brennan, John

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AB - Behavioral/emotional difficulties in children are the first sign of mental health problems. These problems are however, heterogeneous. A domain that may identify homogenous subgroups is hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal function. This study tested whether epigenetic regulation of glucocorticoid receptor gene could explain the co-occurrence of anxiety problems in children with behavior problems. Four- to 16-year-old clinically referred children (N = 241) were measured for psychiatric symptoms, methylation of target CpG sites in blood or saliva, and morning cortisol levels in those who gave blood. Increased methylation of promoter 1F CpG sites was associated with higher vulnerability to co-occurring internalizing symptoms and morning cortisol. The results support increasing optimism that epigenetic regulation of key neuroendocrine systems might help explain hitherto unfathomable individual differences in susceptibility to psychiatric symptom profiles.

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Individual Differences in Childhood Behavior Disorders Associated With Epigenetic Modulation of the Cortisol Receptor Gene

Abstract

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