Do adverse childhood experiences and genetic obesity risk interact in relation to body mass index in young adulthood? Findings from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health

Background Few studies have focused on the role of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in relation to genetic susceptibility to obesity. Objective We aimed to examine the interaction between the presence of ACEs (i.e., physical, psychological and sexual abuse) before the age of 18 and BMI polygenic score. Methods Data came from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) Wave IV (2007/2008) where saliva samples were collected for DNA genotyping and information on BMI and ACEs were obtained from 5854 European American (EA), 2073 African American (AA) and 1448 Hispanic American (HA) participants aged 24 to 32 years old. Polygenic scores were calculated as the sum of the number of risk alleles of BMI-related SNPs which were weighted by effect size. A race/ethnicity-stratified mixed-effects linear regression model was used to test for differential association between BMI polygenic score and BMI by the presence of ACEs. Results We did not find any evidence of significant interaction between ACEs and polygenic score in relation to BMI among EA (p = 0.289), AA (p = 0.618) or HA (p = 0.870). In main effects models, polygenic score was positively associated with BMI in all race/ethnic groups, yet the presence of ACEs was associated with increased BMI only among EA. Conclusion We did not find any evidence that ACEs exacerbate genetic predisposition to increased BMI in early adulthood.