Children’s depressive mood and aggressive behavior were the most significant partial mediators of SA genetic risk on SAs (mediation analysis P < 1 × 10-16). These associations remained significant after accounting for children’s sociodemographic backgrounds, psychopathology symptoms, parental histories of suicide and mental health, and PRSs for major depression and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (likelihood ratio test P <. Results: Of 4344 children of European ancestry (2045 female mean age, 9.93 years), significant associations were found between children’s SA PRSs and their lifetime SAs with the most robust association in the follow-up year 2 (odds ratio, 1.43 corrected P = 1.85 × 10-3 Nagelkerke pseudo R2 = 1.51%). Polygenic risk scores (PRSs) for SAs were calculated for ABCD study participants based on the largest genome-wide association study of SA cases and controls of European ancestry (total sample n = 518 612). Main outcomes and measures: Children’s lifetime experiences of SI and SAs were assessed each year from ages 9 to 10 years to ages 11 to 12 years.
Data analysis was conducted from November 2020 to February 2022. After conservative quality control of genotype data, this analysis focused on 4344 unrelated individuals of European ancestry. Youth reports of suicidal ideation (SI) and SAs were obtained from the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorder and Schizophrenia at baseline and 2 subsequent years. Objective: To examine whether genetic susceptibility to suicide attempts (SAs) is associated with suicidal thoughts and behaviors in children.ĭesign, setting, and participants: This case-control study examined data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study, a population-based longitudinal study of 11 878 US children enrolled at age 9 and 10 years from September 2016 to November 2018. While the heritability of suicide risk is well established, there is limited understanding of how genetic risk is associated with suicidal thoughts and behaviors in young children. Importance: Suicide rates have been increasing among youth in the US. Associations Between Genetic Risk for Adult Suicide Attempt and Suicidal Behaviors in Young Children in the US. Lee PH, Doyle AE, Silberstein M, Jung JY, Liu R, Perlis RH, Roffman J, Smoller JW, Fava M, Kessler RC.