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2-061 - Genetically Informed Studies of Prenatal Risk Factors

Fri, April 7, 10:15 to 11:45am, Austin Convention Center, Meeting Room 6A

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Researchers have highlighted that prenatal risk factors are associated with important health outcomes across the lifespan. Yet, more research is needed to elucidate the developmental processes that account for the associations between specific risk factors and later problems. First, research must distinguish between the processes specifically due to the exposure from the influence of environmental and genetic confounding factors. Second, studies must explore how genetic and environmental factors moderate the associations between prenatal risk factors and later outcomes. The proposed symposium presents four research projects that examine prenatal risk factors and developmental outcomes using several genetically informed research designs.

Study one examined the association between maternal infection during pregnancy and offspring autism using several family-based designs, such as cousin- and sibling-comparisons. Study two explored the consequences of maternal smoking during pregnancy on adolescent alcohol initiation while controlling for maternal characteristics and genes in xenobiotic and brain-based pathways. Study three examined the association between maternal smoking during pregnancy and offspring reading/language performance while comparing differentially exposed siblings. Study four explored the influence of (a) both genetic risk and prenatal exposure to illicit drug use on child emotional reactivity and (b) the moderating role of rearing environment using an adoption design.

The symposium, therefore, would illustrate how using genetically informed designs helps elucidate developmental processes related to prenatal risk factors. Furthermore, the symposium will be a global interest, as the studies were conducted in several countries, while highlighting the advantages of interdisciplinary collaborations (e.g., among psychologists, geneticists, epidemiologists) for translational research.

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