fpsyg-08-01361
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Time: 15:7
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Rozenblat et al.
5-HTTLPR and Disordered Eating
model of
5-HTTLPR, with some evidence that the tri-allelic may
better represent activity of this polymorphism (
Wendland et al.,
2006
), as well as the use of self-report questionnaires to measure
most constructs, with accounts of sexual abuse and parental
physical punishment measured retrospectively. Accordingly, the
measure of emotional control used in the present study does
not have published psychometric properties, although it has been
used in previous research (
O’Connor et al., 2011
;
Toumbourou
et al., 2011
). Finally,
5-HTTLPR is just one of numerous genetic
factors that may be involved in the etiology of disordered eating.
Implications and Future Directions
Findings from this study suggest that psychological and
environmental variables remain central in eating pathology, while
evidence for specific candidate genes continues to be tentative
at best. Although a statistically significant genetic interaction
effect was identified in this study, evidence remains inconclusive
because the subsample on which it was based was not in
Hardy–Weinberg Equilibrium. It is important to note, however,
that the null results reported in this study sit in contrast to the
substantial genetic contribution to most psychiatric outcomes
estimated in twin study designs (
Trace et al., 2013
). This
suggests that there is still much work to do in the area of
eating pathology to adequately explain the variation reported
in twin studies. Null findings from this study suggest a more
complex picture of genetic determination, one that would benefit
from a move to genome-wide approaches, with an emphasis on
identifying polygenic effects that emerge from networks of genes,
which may better reflect the genetic foundations of complex
diseases. Future studies of candidate genes should prioritize
increasing statistical power, which may be achieved via data
sharing across consortiums of life-course studies. Studies such
as the present investigation provide a valuable contribution that
should form part of future meta-analytic investigations, and
constitute an important step forward in progressing investigation
of how psychosocial and genetic factors may be related to eating
pathology.
AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS
VR was responsible for conducting all analyses and preparing
all sections of the manuscript. IK, JR, EW, RK, and CO were
involved in collecting data and revising the manuscript for
important intellectual content. All authors contributed to and
approved the final manuscript.
FUNDING
This work was supported by an Early Career Researcher Grant
(1350035), an Australian Research Council Senior Research
Fellowship (DP 130101459), and the Australian Postgraduate
Award. None of these institutions had any role in the study
design, collection, analysis and interpretation of data, preparation
of the manuscript, or decision to submit the manuscript for
publication.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The ATP study is located at The Royal Children’s Hospital
Melbourne and is a collaboration between Deakin University,
The University of Melbourne, the Australian Institute of
Family Studies, The University of New South Wales, The
University of Otago (NZ), and The Royal Children’s Hospital;
further information available at www.aifs.gov.au/atp. The
views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and
may not reflect those of their organizational affiliations,
nor of other collaborating individuals or organizations. We
acknowledge all collaborators who have contributed to the
Australian Temperament Project, especially Professors Ann
Sanson, Margot Prior, Frank Oberklaid, John Toumbourou
and Ms. Diana Smart. We would also like to sincerely
thank the participating families for their time and invaluable
contribution to the study. This paper forms part of VR’s
Ph.D. with publication undertaken at The University of
Melbourne.
SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL
The Supplementary Material for this article can be found
online
at:
http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.
2017.01361/full#supplementary-material
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Conflict of Interest Statement:
The authors declare that the research was
conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could
be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
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