Genetic and non-genetic predictors of risk for opioid dependence.

Abstract

Background: Elucidation of the interaction of biological and psychosocial/environmental factors on opioid dependence (OD) risk can inform our understanding of the etiology of OD. We examined the role of psychosocial/environmental factors in moderating polygenic risk for opioid use disorder (OUD).

Methods: Data from 1958 European ancestry adults who participated in the Yale-Penn 3 study were analyzed. Polygenic risk scores (PRS) were based on a large-scale multi-trait analysis of genome-wide association studies (MTAG) of OUD.

Results: A total of 420 (21.1%) individuals had a lifetime diagnosis of OD. OUD PRS were positively associated with OD (odds ratio [OR] 1.42, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.21-1.66). Household income and education were the strongest correlates of OD. Among individuals with higher OUD PRS, those with higher education level had lower odds of OD (OR 0.92, 95% CI 0.85-0.98); and those with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were more likely to have OD relative to those without PTSD (OR 1.56, 95% CI 1.04-2.35).

Conclusions: Results suggest an interplay between genetics and psychosocial environment in contributing to OD risk. While PRS alone do not yet have useful clinical predictive utility, psychosocial factors may help enhance prediction. These findings could inform more targeted clinical and policy interventions to help address this public health crisis.