Individual Trajectories of Depressive Symptoms Within Racially-Ethnically Diverse Youth: Associations with Polygenic Risk for Depression and Substance Use Intent and Perceived Harm

We examined racially/ethnically aligned polygenic scores (Dep-PGS) as predictors of trajectories as well as substance use intent and perceived substance use harm as outcomes at age 12-13. Differential trajectories were found in AA, EA, and LX youth but low and high trajectories were represented within each group. In EA youth, greater Dep-PGS were broadly associated with membership in trajectories with greater depressive symptoms. Genetic effects were not significant in AA and LX youth. In AA youth, membership in the low trajectory was associated with greater substance use intent. In EA youth, membership in trajectories with higher depressive symptoms was associated with greater substance use intent and less perceived harm. There were no associations between trajectories and substance use intent and perceived harm in LX youth. These findings indicate that there are distinct depressive symptom trajectories in AA, EA, and LX youth, accompanied by unique associations with genetic predisposition for depressive symptoms and substance use outcomes.PMID:38097814 | DOI:10.1007/s10519-023-10167-6
Source: Behavior Genetics - Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Authors: Source Type: research