Citation

Halldorsdottir T, Kurtoic D, Müller-Myhsok B, Binder EB, Blair C. Am. J. Psychiatry 2019; 176(8): 626-634.

Affiliation

The Department of Translational Research in Psychiatry, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich (Halldorsdottir, Kurtoic, Müller-Myhsok, Binder); the Center of Public Health Sciences, University of Iceland, Reykjavík (Halldorsdottir); the Department of Molecular and Clinical Pharmacology, Institute of Translational Medicine, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, U.K. (Müller-Myhsok); the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta (Binder); the Department of Applied Psychology, New York University, New York (Blair); the Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, and the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Family Life Project Key Investigators).

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, American Psychiatric Association)

DOI

10.1176/appi.ajp.2019.18091018

PMID

30947533

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:: Self-regulation includes the volitional and nonvolitional regulation of emotional, cognitive, and physiological responses to stimulation. It develops from infancy through individual characteristics and the environment, with the stress hormone system as a central player. Accordingly, the authors hypothesized that genes involved in regulating the stress system, such as FK506 binding protein 5 (FKBP5), interact with early-life stress exposure, such as exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV), to predict self-regulation indicators and associated outcomes, including behavioral and learning problems in school.

METHODS:: Study participants were a longitudinal birth cohort of 910 children for whom FKBP5 genotypes were available and who were assessed for exposure to IPV during the first 2 years of life as well as multiple measures of self-regulation: stress-induced cortisol reactivity and fear-elicited emotional reactivity at 7, 15, and 24 months, executive function at 36, 48, and 60 months, and emotional and behavioral difficulties and reading and math achievement in school grades 1, 2, and 5. Data were analyzed using longitudinal clustering and ordinal logistic regression procedures followed by mixed linear modeling.

RESULTS:: Children with two copies of a risk FKBP5 haplotype and IPV exposure were significantly more likely to have a developmental trajectory characterized by high, prolonged stress-induced cortisol reactivity and emotional reactivity in toddlerhood, followed by low executive function at school entry and high emotional and behavior problems and low reading ability in the primary school grades.

CONCLUSIONS:: The interaction of FKBP5 and IPV affects the physiological response to stress early in life, with consequences for emotional and cognitive self-regulation. Targeting self-regulation may present an early intervention strategy for children facing genetic and environmental risk.

Language: en

Keywords

; Biological Markers; Early-Life Stress; Gene-By-Environment; Intimate Partner Violence; Self-Regulation