Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40921796›Full record

ArticleMolecular psychiatry2026

Polygenic scores for psychiatric traits mediate the impact of multigenerational history for depression on offspring psychopathology.

Eunji Lee, Milenna T van Dijk, Bo-Gyeom Kim, Gakyung Kim, Eleanor Murphy, Ardesheer Talati, Yoonjung Yoonie Joo, Myrna M Weissman, Jiook Cha

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Molecular psychiatry, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Eunji Lee *Department of Psychology, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea.ORCID 0000-0002-2589-5395
Milenna T van Dijk *Department of Psychiatry, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
Bo-Gyeom KimDepartment of Psychology, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea.ORCID 0000-0003-2685-877X
Gakyung KimDepartment of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea.
Eleanor MurphyDepartment of Psychiatry, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
Ardesheer TalatiDepartment of Psychiatry, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
Yoonjung Yoonie JooDepartment of Digital Health, Samsung Advanced Institute for Health Sciences & Technology (SAIHST), Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul, South Korea.ORCID 0000-0001-9506-8742
Myrna M WeissmanDepartment of Psychiatry, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-3490-3075
Jiook ChaDepartment of Psychology, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea. connectome@snu.ac.kr.ORCID 0000-0002-5314-7992

Funding

Three Generations at High and Low Risk for Depression Followed LongitudinallyR01MH036197 · NIMH · YALE UNIVERSITY · PI POSNER, JONATHAN E, WEISSMAN, MYRNA M · 1985 to 2020
$15.0M
Hippocampal and Genetic Mechanisms Underlying Development of Depression in Children at High Family RiskR00MH129611 · NIMH · COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES · PI Milenna Tamara van Dijk · 2024 to 2026
$747k
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) YIG-R-001-19National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) RS-2023-00250759NIMH NIH HHS R00 MH129611NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH036197U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | NIH | National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) R00MH129611U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | NIH | National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) R01MH036197
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

A family history of depression is a well-documented risk factor for offspring psychopathology. However, the genetic mechanisms underlying the intergenerational transmission of depression remain unclear. We used genetic, family history, and diagnostic data from 11,875 9-10 year-old children from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study. We estimated and investigated the children's polygenic scores (PGSs) for 30 distinct traits and their association with a family history of depression (including grandparents and parents) and the children's overall psychopathology through logistic regression analyses. We assessed the role of polygenic risk for psychiatric disorders in mediating the transmission of depression from one generation to the next. Among 11,875 multi-ancestry children, 8111 participants had matching phenotypic and genotypic data (3832 female [47.2%]; mean (SD) age, 9.5 (0.5) years), including 6151 [71.4%] of European-ancestry). Greater PGSs for depression (estimate = 0.129, 95% CI = 0.070-0.187) and bipolar disorder (estimate = 0.109, 95% CI = 0.051-0.168) were significantly associated with higher family history of depression (Bonferroni-corrected P < 0.05). Depression PGS was the only PGS that significantly associated with both family risk and offspring's psychopathology, and robustly mediated the impact of family history of depression on several youth psychopathologies including anxiety disorders, suicidal ideation, and any psychiatric disorder (proportions mediated 1.39-5.87% of the total effect on psychopathology; FDR-corrected P < 0.05). These findings suggest that increased polygenic risk for depression partially mediates the associations between family risk for depression and offspring psychopathology, showing a genetic basis for intergenerational transmission of depression. Future approaches that combine assessments of family risk with polygenic profiles may offer a more accurate method for identifying children at elevated risk.

Indexed as

DepressionMultifactorial InheritanceBipolar DisorderChildDepressive DisorderFemaleGenetic Predisposition to DiseaseGenome-Wide Association StudyGenotypeHumansMaleMental DisordersPhenotypePsychopathologyRisk Factors

Identifiers

PMID40921796
PMCPMC12815659

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.