| 1. |
- Baker, Laura, et al.
(author)
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The Relationship between IQ and PM2.5 : Findings from the University of Southern California Twin Study
- 2016
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In: Behavior Genetics. - : Springer. - 0001-8244 .- 1573-3297. ; 46:6, s. 772-773
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We examined the longitudinal relationship between IQ and fine particulate matter (\2.5lm aerodynamic diameters; PM2.5) exposure in urban-dwelling children, using prospective longitudinal data from the USC Twin Study of Risk Factors for Antisocial Behavior (RFAB; Baker et al. 2013). Residential addresses were collected via selfreports. Verbal and Performance IQ during childhood (age 9–10) and young adulthood (age 19–20) were evaluated by the Wechsler Abbreviated Intelligence Scale (Wechsler, 1999) using four subtests: VIQ=Vocabulary Similarities; PIQ=Block Design Matrices. Based on residential addresses and spatiotemporal generalized additive model of local monitoring data for PM2.5, we estimated 1-year average exposure before each assessment. A three-level mixed effects model regressing IQ scores at each assessment on time-varying air pollution exposures, accounting for both within-family (random intercepts) and within-individual (random slopes) was used. PM2.5 exposure had significant adverse effects on PIQ (95 % CI of b:-7.29 to-1.01, p\.05) but not VIQ (95 % CI of b:-4.50 to-1.96). Adverse effects of PM2.5 exposure remained significant after adjusting for age, family SES, sex, race/ethnicity, parental cognitive abilities, neighborhood SES, neighborhood quality and neighborhood greenness; the association was still significant after further adjusting for traffic distance (300 m), temperature, humidity and annual NOx. PM2.5 exposure confers stronger adverse effects on PIQ in low SES families, males, and during pre-adolescence. Our findings reveal social disparities and sexual dimorphism in the adverse PM2.5 exposure effects on PIQ. Baker, L., Tuvblad, C., Wang, P., Gomez, K., Bezdjian, S., Niv, S., & Raine, A. (2013). The Southern California Twin Register at the University of Southern California: III. Twin Research and Human Genetics, 16(1), 336–343; Wechsler, D. (1999). Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI). San Antonio, Texas: Harcourt Assessment.
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| 2. |
- Isen, Joshua, et al.
(author)
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Developmental Trajectories of Delinquent and Aggressive Behavior : Evidence for Differential Heritability
- 2022
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In: Child Psychiatry and Human Development. - : Springer. - 0009-398X .- 1573-3327. ; 53:2, s. 199-211
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The developmental course of antisocial behavior is often described in terms of qualitatively distinct trajectories. However, the genetic etiology of various trajectories is not well understood. We examined heterogeneity in the development of delinquent and aggressive behavior in 1532 twin youth using four waves of data collection, spanning ages 9-10 to 16-18. A latent class growth analysis was used to uncover relevant subgroups. For delinquent behavior, three latent classes emerged: Non-Delinquent, Low-Level Delinquent, and Persistent Delinquent. Liability for persistent delinquency had a substantial genetic origin (heritability = 67%), whereas genetic influences were negligible for lower-risk subgroups. Three classes of aggressive behavior were identified: Non-Aggressive, Moderate, and High. Moderate heritability spanned the entire continuum of risk for aggressive behavior. Thus, there are differences between aggressive behavior and non-aggressive delinquency with respect to heterogeneity of etiology. We conclude that persistent delinquency represents an etiologically distinct class of rule-breaking with strong genetic roots.
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| 3. |
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| 4. |
- Wang, Pan, et al.
(author)
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Socioeconomic disparities and sexual dimorphism in neurotoxic effects of ambient fine particles on youth IQ : A longitudinal analysis
- 2017
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In: PLOS ONE. - San Francisco, CA, USA : Public Library of Science. - 1932-6203. ; 12:12
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Mounting evidence indicates that early-life exposure to particulate air pollutants pose threats to children's cognitive development, but studies about the neurotoxic effects associated with exposures during adolescence remain unclear. We examined whether exposure to ambient fine particles (PM2.5) at residential locations affects intelligence quotient (IQ) during pre-/early- adolescence (ages 9-11) and emerging adulthood (ages 18-20) in a demographically-diverse population (N = 1,360) residing in Southern California. Increased ambient PM2.5 levels were associated with decreased IQ scores. This association was more evident for Performance IQ (PIQ), but less for Verbal IQ, assessed by the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence. For each inter-quartile (7.73 μg/m3) increase in one-year PM2.5 preceding each assessment, the average PIQ score decreased by 3.08 points (95% confidence interval = [-6.04, -0.12]) accounting for within-family/within-individual correlations, demographic characteristics, family socioeconomic status (SES), parents' cognitive abilities, neighborhood characteristics, and other spatial confounders. The adverse effect was 150% greater in low SES families and 89% stronger in males, compared to their counterparts. Better understanding of the social disparities and sexual dimorphism in the adverse PM2.5-IQ effects may help elucidate the underlying mechanisms and shed light on prevention strategies.
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| 5. |
- Younan, Diana, et al.
(author)
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Ambient Temperature and Externalizing Behaviors of Adolescents in Southern California : A Longitudinal Analysis
- 2016
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Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Introduction: The climate-violence relationship has been debated for over 20 years, primarily because the supportive evidence was either ecological in nature or based on cross-sectional data. We conducted an individual-level, longitudinal analysis to investigate the association between temperature and externalizing behaviors in an urban-dwelling population.Methods: Participants (N=1287) of the Risk Factors for Antisocial Behavior Study, a multi-ethnic cohort of twins/triplets living in Southern California, were examined in 2000-2012 (aged 9 to 18 years) with repeated assessments of their aggressive and delinquent behaviors by the parent-reported Child Behavior Checklist. Ambient temperature was obtained from the local Meteorological Information System, with recordings from the closest site assigned to each geocoded residence. A monthly time-series from 1990 to 2012 was constructed and aggregated in 1-, 3-, and 6-month and 1-, 2-, and 3-year averages prior to each behavioral assessment. Multilevel mixed-effects models were used to estimate the effects of temperature, adjusting for within-family/within-individual correlations and other potential confounders.Results: Statistically significant associations (all p<0.05) were found between aggression and average temperature aggregated over 6 months or longer. Increasing aggressive behaviors were associated with rising 6-month average temperatures. However, longer-term (1- to 3-year average) temperatures showed a non-linear U-shaped association, with less aggressive behaviors at moderate temperatures (15-20°C), but increasing aggression at higher or lower temperatures. No significant effects were found on delinquency.Conclusions: Our study provides the first individual-level epidemiologic evidence supporting the adverse temperature effects on aggressive human behaviors. Similar approaches to studying violent crimes may further inform the scientific debates on climate changes and violence.
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| 6. |
- Younan, Diana, et al.
(author)
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Environmental Determinants of Aggression in Adolescents : Role of Urban Neighborhood Greenspace
- 2016
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In: Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. - Amsterdam, Netherlands : Elsevier. - 0890-8567 .- 1527-5418. ; 55:7, s. 591-601
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objective: Neighborhood greenspace improves mental health of urban-dwelling populations, but its putative neurobehavioral benefits in adolescents remain unclear. We conducted a prospective study on urban-dwelling adolescents to examine the association between greenspace in residential neighborhood and aggressive behaviors.Method: Participants (n = 1,287) of the Risk Factors for Antisocial Behavior Study, a multi-ethnic cohort of twins and triplets born in 1990 to 1995 and living in Southern California, were examined in 2000 to 2012 (aged 9-18 years) with repeated assessments of their aggressive behaviors by the parent-reported Child Behavior Checklist. Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) derived from satellite imagery was used as a proxy for residential neighborhood greenspace aggregated over various spatiotemporal scales before each assessment. Multilevel mixed-effects models were used to estimate the effects of greenspace on aggressive behaviors, adjusting for within-family/within-individual correlations and other potential confounders.Results: Both short-term (1- to 6-month) and long-term (1- to 3-year) exposures to greenspace within 1,000 meters surrounding residences were associated with reduced aggressive behaviors. The benefit of increasing vegetation over the range (∼0.12 in NDVI) commonly seen in urban environments was equivalent to approximately 2 to 2.5 years of behavioral maturation. Sociodemographic factors (e.g., age, gender, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status) and neighborhood quality did not confound or modify these associations, and the benefits remained after accounting for temperature.Conclusion: Our novel findings support the benefits of neighborhood greenspace in reducing aggressive behaviors of urban-dwelling adolescents. Community-based interventions are needed to determine the efficacy of greenspace as a preemptive strategy to reduce aggressive behaviors in urban environments.
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| 7. |
- Younan, Diana, et al.
(author)
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Long-Term Ambient Temperature and Externalizing Behaviors in Adolescents
- 2018
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In: American Journal of Epidemiology. - : Oxford University Press. - 0002-9262 .- 1476-6256. ; 187:9, s. 1931-1941
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The climate-violence relationship has been debated for decades, and yet most of the supportive evidence came from ecological or cross-sectional analyses with very limited long-term exposure data. We conducted an individual-level, longitudinal study to investigate the association between ambient temperature and externalizing behaviors of urban-dwelling adolescents. Participants (n = 1,287) of the Risk Factors for Antisocial Behavior Study were examined in 2000-2012 (aged 9-18 years) with repeated assessments of their externalizing behaviors (aggression; delinquency). Ambient temperature data were obtained from the local Meteorological Information System. In adjusted multi-level models, aggressive behaviors significantly increased with rising average temperatures (per 1°C-increment) in preceding 1-3 years (β = 0.23, 95% CI: 0.00, 0.46; β = 0.35, 95% CI: 0.06, 0.63; β = 0.41, 95% CI: 0.08, 0.74; respectively), equivalent to 1.5-3 years of delay in age-related behavioral maturation. These associations were slightly stronger among girls and families of lower socioeconomic status, but greatly diminished in neighborhoods with higher greenspace. No significant associations were found with delinquency. Our study provides the first individual-level epidemiologic evidence supporting the adverse association of long-term ambient temperature and aggression. Similar approaches to studying meteorology and violent crimes may further inform scientific debates on climate change and collective violence.
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| 8. |
- Younan, Diana, et al.
(author)
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Longitudinal Analysis of Particulate Air Pollutants and Adolescent Delinquent Behavior in Southern California
- 2018
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In: Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology. - New York, NY, USA : Springer. - 0091-0627 .- 1573-2835. ; 46:6, s. 1283-1293
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Animal experiments and cross-sectional human studies have linked particulate matter (PM) with increased behavioral problems. We conducted a longitudinal study to examine whether the trajectories of delinquent behavior are affected by PM2.5 (PM with aerodynamic diameter ≤ 2.5 μm) exposures before and during adolescence. We used the parent-reported Child Behavior Checklist at age 9-18 with repeated measures every ~2-3 years (up to 4 behavioral assessments) on 682 children from the Risk Factors for Antisocial Behavior Study conducted in a multi-ethnic cohort of twins born in 1990-1995. Based on prospectively-collected residential addresses and a spatiotemporal model of ambient air concentrations in Southern California, monthly PM2.5 estimates were aggregated to represent long-term (1-, 2-, 3-year average) exposures preceding baseline and cumulative average exposure until the last assessment. Multilevel mixed-effects models were used to examine the association between PM2.5 exposure and individual trajectories of delinquent behavior, adjusting for within-family/within-individual correlations and potential confounders. We also examined whether psychosocial factors modified this association. The results sμggest that PM2.5 exposure at baseline and cumulative exposure during follow-up was significantly associated (p < 0.05) with increased delinquent behavior. The estimated effect sizes (per interquartile increase of PM2.5 by 3.12-5.18 μg/m3) were equivalent to the difference in delinquency scores between adolescents who are 3.5-4 years apart in age. The adverse effect was stronger in families with unfavorable parent-to-child relationships, increased parental stress or maternal depressive symptoms. Overall, these findings sμggest long-term PM2.5 exposure may increase delinquent behavior of urban-dwelling adolescents, with the resulting neurotoxic effect aggravated by psychosocial adversities.
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