Project acronym LIFECOURSE
Project A MULTILEVEL ANALYSIS ON THE EFFECTS OF STRESS ON BIOLOGY, EMOTIONS AND BEHAVIOUR THROUGHOUT CHILDHOOD
Researcher (PI) Inga Dora Sigfusdottir
Host Institution (HI) HASKOLINN I REYKJAVIK EHF
Country Iceland
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), SH3, ERC-2014-CoG
Summary The overall objective of the proposed research is to improve our understanding of the interplay between biological, environmental, and social factors that influence the development of harmful behaviours in adolescents. We propose to conduct the first multilevel cohort study of its kind that would combine biological, behavioural, and social data from before birth through adolescence for an entire population birth cohort of adolescents. The program is based in Iceland due to a unique infrastructure for the collection of health and social registry data as well as available access to a whole cohort of adolescents. We will extend our previous work using a multilevel developmental framework to identify both individual and collective level variables to study the independent and interactive effects of biological, environmental, and social determinants of adolescent harmful behaviours, with special emphasis on the influence of stress on substance use, self-inflicted harm, suicidal behaviour, and delinquency. Our retrospective longitudinal database will include existing registry information on maternal, child, and environmental determinants of adolescent harmful behaviours, measured prior to birth, at the time of birth, and during the infant, toddler, preschool, middle-childhood and early adolescent years, for the entire 2000 year birth cohort. We will prospectively measure biomarkers in human saliva and use an existing social survey infrastructure to add to the registry database. We have acquired all necessary ethical and organizational permissions and have carried out a preliminary study that shows registry data compliance of over 90% for all variables we intend to combine. This is a fundamental research project, examining unchartered territory. The results of this project will stimulate international research but more importantly, an understanding that will lead to better policies, planning and quality of life for young people in Europe and beyond.
Summary
The overall objective of the proposed research is to improve our understanding of the interplay between biological, environmental, and social factors that influence the development of harmful behaviours in adolescents. We propose to conduct the first multilevel cohort study of its kind that would combine biological, behavioural, and social data from before birth through adolescence for an entire population birth cohort of adolescents. The program is based in Iceland due to a unique infrastructure for the collection of health and social registry data as well as available access to a whole cohort of adolescents. We will extend our previous work using a multilevel developmental framework to identify both individual and collective level variables to study the independent and interactive effects of biological, environmental, and social determinants of adolescent harmful behaviours, with special emphasis on the influence of stress on substance use, self-inflicted harm, suicidal behaviour, and delinquency. Our retrospective longitudinal database will include existing registry information on maternal, child, and environmental determinants of adolescent harmful behaviours, measured prior to birth, at the time of birth, and during the infant, toddler, preschool, middle-childhood and early adolescent years, for the entire 2000 year birth cohort. We will prospectively measure biomarkers in human saliva and use an existing social survey infrastructure to add to the registry database. We have acquired all necessary ethical and organizational permissions and have carried out a preliminary study that shows registry data compliance of over 90% for all variables we intend to combine. This is a fundamental research project, examining unchartered territory. The results of this project will stimulate international research but more importantly, an understanding that will lead to better policies, planning and quality of life for young people in Europe and beyond.
Max ERC Funding
1 999 188 €
Duration
Start date: 2015-07-01, End date: 2020-06-30
Project acronym StressGene
Project The Genetics of Morbidity and Survival in Response to Significant Life Stressors
Researcher (PI) Unnur VALDIMARSDoTTIR
Host Institution (HI) HASKOLI ISLANDS
Country Iceland
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), LS7, ERC-2016-COG
Summary Significant life stressors – including death of loved ones, being diagnosed with a life-threatening illness, and exposure to natural disasters or violence – are well-documented risk factors of ill health, disability and premature mortality. Why some individuals remain healthy while others remiss to adverse symptoms, disease or death after exposure to such life stressors remains unclear. The overarching aim of this research program is to advance current understanding of the potential genetic contribution to varying trajectories of health following exposure to significant life stressors.
The program leverages the registries of major diseases and mortality covering the whole Icelandic nation (N=330.000) and the unique genetic- and genealogical resources at deCODE Genetics to perform genome-wide association studies (GWAS) on the varying risks of overall mortality and major diseases (including psychiatric disorders and cardiovascular disease) after loss of a family member or after receiving a cancer diagnosis. We will further seek to identify sequence variants associated with variation in symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in two highly traumatized cohorts: the SAGA cohort of 30.000 Icelandic women with high lifetime prevalence of violence exposure, as well as a cohort of 5.000 Swedes exposed to the 2004 SA-Asian Tsunami. This research program represents the first major attempt to address the potential genetic basis of varying somatic health outcomes after exposure to significant life stressors and, to our knowledge, one of the first comprehensive GWAS on PTSD in European populations.
Virtually everyone is at some point in their life exposed to significant life stressors or trauma; the knowledge gained from this comprehensive research program may facilitate early identification and refined, personalized interventions for the most vulnerable individuals of the large populations worldwide that inevitably will continue to be exposed to trauma.
Summary
Significant life stressors – including death of loved ones, being diagnosed with a life-threatening illness, and exposure to natural disasters or violence – are well-documented risk factors of ill health, disability and premature mortality. Why some individuals remain healthy while others remiss to adverse symptoms, disease or death after exposure to such life stressors remains unclear. The overarching aim of this research program is to advance current understanding of the potential genetic contribution to varying trajectories of health following exposure to significant life stressors.
The program leverages the registries of major diseases and mortality covering the whole Icelandic nation (N=330.000) and the unique genetic- and genealogical resources at deCODE Genetics to perform genome-wide association studies (GWAS) on the varying risks of overall mortality and major diseases (including psychiatric disorders and cardiovascular disease) after loss of a family member or after receiving a cancer diagnosis. We will further seek to identify sequence variants associated with variation in symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in two highly traumatized cohorts: the SAGA cohort of 30.000 Icelandic women with high lifetime prevalence of violence exposure, as well as a cohort of 5.000 Swedes exposed to the 2004 SA-Asian Tsunami. This research program represents the first major attempt to address the potential genetic basis of varying somatic health outcomes after exposure to significant life stressors and, to our knowledge, one of the first comprehensive GWAS on PTSD in European populations.
Virtually everyone is at some point in their life exposed to significant life stressors or trauma; the knowledge gained from this comprehensive research program may facilitate early identification and refined, personalized interventions for the most vulnerable individuals of the large populations worldwide that inevitably will continue to be exposed to trauma.
Max ERC Funding
1 998 544 €
Duration
Start date: 2017-06-01, End date: 2022-05-31
