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Meta-analysis of gene–environment interactions in developmental psychopathology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 October 2007

Alan Taylor  and
Julia Kim-Cohen
Alan Taylor*
Affiliation:
King's College London
Julia Kim-Cohen
Affiliation:
Yale University
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Alan Taylor, Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Box Number PO80, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, De Crespigny Park, Denmark Hill, London SE5 8AF, UK; E-mail: [email protected].
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Abstract

As studies of measured gene–environment interactions (G × E) in developmental psychopathology gain momentum, methods for systematically and quantitatively summarizing effects across multiple studies are urgently needed. Meta-analyses of G × E findings are critical for evaluating the overall statistical and theoretical significance of any given G × E based on cumulative and systematically combined knowledge. Although meta-analytic methods for the combination of study findings based on single effect measures such as odds ratios and mean differences are well established, equivalent methods for the meta-analysis of studies investigating interactions are not well developed. This article describes one simple approach to the meta-analysis of G × E effects using, as a contemporaneous example, the interaction of the monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) gene and the impact of childhood maltreatment on risk for developing antisocial behavior.

Type
Research Article
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 19 , Issue 4 , Fall 2007 , pp. 1029 - 1037
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2007

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