Jacqueline M Vink

Radboud University | RU · Behavioural Science Institute

Cannabis is widely used worldwide, yet its links to health outcomes are not fully understood. DNA methylation can serve as a mediator to link environmental exposures to health outcomes. We conducted an epigenome-wide association study (EWAS) of peripheral blood-based DNA methylation and lifetime cannabis use (ever vs. never) in a meta-analysis incl...

The college years represent a vulnerable period for developing health-risk behaviours (e.g., physical inactivity/unhealthy eating habits/substance use/problematic internet use/insufficient sleep). This study examined current health behaviour levels (RQ1), health behaviour classes (RQ2) and between-class differences in socio-demographics (RQ3) and m...

The aim of this study is to examine an extended model of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and increase insight into the intentions to consume energy-dense food among adolescents in Indonesia. This study included 411 adolescents from private schools who reported their intentions to consume energy-dense food the next day and the next week, as wel...

Objective: Schools are considered an important setting for stimulating healthy weight. The current study is unique in examining effects of a multi-component school-based social network intervention on children’s body mass index z-scores (zBMI). Methods: Four schools were randomly allocated to one of four conditions: a social network intervention us...

Cannabis is widely used worldwide, yet its links to health outcomes are not fully understood. DNA methylation can serve as a mediator to link environmental exposures to health outcomes. We conducted an epigenome-wide association study (EWAS) of peripheral blood-based DNA methylation and lifetime cannabis use (ever vs. never) in a meta-analysis incl...

Background Although energy balance-related parenting practices are regarded critical components in the prevention of childhood obesity, most programs targeting parenting practices with respect to a wide range of energy balance-related behaviors were not aimed at high-risk families with a lower socioeconomic position (SEP). Objective The Samen Happ...

Cannabis is among the most widely consumed psychoactive substances worldwide. Individual differences in cannabis use phenotypes can partly be explained by genetic differences. Technical and methodological advances have increased our understanding of the genetic aetiology of cannabis use. This narrative review discusses the genetic literature on can...

The COVID-19 pandemic may negatively influence food parenting practices, also among parents of adolescents. Parental well-being (stress and depressive symptoms) may explain these COVID-19 related changes in food parenting practices (snack structure, healthy structure, modeling, autonomy support, and coercive control). However, most previous studies...

Although insight in how adolescents’ food intake is affected by the COVID-19 pandemic is critical, knowledge is limited. Hence, this longitudinal study (N = 691, Mage = 14.30, SDage = 0.62; 52.5% female) investigated changes in adolescents’ unhealthy (sugar-sweetened beverages, sweet snacks, savoury snacks) and healthy (fruit and vegetables) food i...

Genetic factors have a substantial influence on individuals' food preferences, but less is known about their influence on abstinence from eating meat and fish. Here we looked at the influence genetics may have on pescetarianism (not eating meat but eating fish) and vegetarianism (not eating meat and fish) in a Dutch twin sample (N = 8,196). We also...

The cell adhesion molecule 2 ( CADM2 ) gene has appeared among the top associations in a wide range of genome-wide association studies (GWASs). This study aims to: (1) examine how widespread the role of CADM2 is in behavioural traits, and (2) investigate trait-specific effects on CADM2 expression levels across tissues. We conducted a phenome-wide a...

Little is known about how adolescent best friends may affect each other's food intake. This study explored whether friendship selection and socialization mechanisms explained potential food intake similarities in adolescent reciprocated best friend dyads. We also tested whether socialization processes were moderated by dyad member's relative zBMI....

Samenvatting De coronacrisis kan beschouwd worden als een ‘natuurlijk experiment’ waarin de sociale context aanzienlijk is veranderd. Het is nog grotendeels onbekend hoe jongeren daarop reageren en welke gedragingen veranderen. We hebben een cohortvergelijking gemaakt van derdeklassers ( N = 177, M leeftijd = 15,00) van de middelbare school vóór de...

This study aims to disentangle the contribution of genetic liability, educational attainment (EA), and their overlap and interaction in lifetime smoking. We conducted genome-wide association studies (GWASs) in UK Biobank (N = 394,718) to (i) capture variants for lifetime smoking, (ii) variants for EA, and (iii) variants that contribute to lifetime...

(1) Background: Few studies have investigated (demographic) correlates of (prevalent) overweight rates among early adolescents, especially from higher socioeconomic positions (SEP) in developing countries, such as Indonesia. The current study aims to fill this gap. (2) Methods: Participants included 411 adolescents from five private schools in Indo...

Tobacco, alcohol and cannabis are commonly used among university students. However, student lives and their substance use have changed dramatically since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study investigated the impact of COVID-19 on (trends in) weekly smoking, weekly binge drinking and weekly cannabis use in Dutch university students and inv...

Many adolescents start using tobacco, alcohol, and cannabis. Genetic vulnerability, parent characteristics in young adolescence, and interaction (GxE) and correlation (rGE) between these factors could contribute to the development of substance use. Using prospective data from the TRacking Adolescent Individuals’ Lives Survey (TRAILS; N = 1,645), we...

Suitable instruments for measuring Food Parenting Practices (FPP) among adolescents and their parents that also measure the perception of adolescents about their parent's FPP are rare. The current study describes the development and preliminary testing of a short 16-item Adolescent Food Parenting Questionnaire (AFPQ) for parents (AFPQ-p) and adoles...

Parental stress may influence adolescents’ food intake and weight development over time, however, it is largely unknown why this is the case. This study examines whether the link between parental stress and adolescents’ snack intake and weight outcome is mediated by food parenting practices (FPPs). Participants included 400 parents and their adoles...

A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-021-01049-6

Background Structural variation in subcortical brain regions has been linked to substance use, including the most commonly used substances nicotine and alcohol. Pre-existing differences in subcortical brain volume may affect smoking and alcohol use, but there is also evidence that smoking and alcohol use can lead to structural changes. Aims We ass...

Tobacco use disorder is a major contributor to morbidity and mortality worldwide. Yet, in contrast to other substance use disorders, tobacco use disorder is often considered as an unhealthy lifestyle. In this article we argue that tobacco use disorder should be considered similar to other addictive disorders, and summarize supporting arguments from...

This phenomewide association study examined SNP and genebased associations of the CADM2 gene with 242 psychobehavioral traits (N=12,211 to 453,349). We found significant associations with 51 traits, many more than for other genes. We replicated previously reported associations with substance use, risk taking, and health behavior, and uncovered nove...

Background Growing evidence suggests that maternal mental health issues are associated with (young) children’s weight outcomes. However, most studies have been limited by cross-sectional designs and have been aimed at (younger) children. The current prospective study focuses on the link between maternal mental health (i.e., psychological stress and...

This systematic review is the first to provide an overview of the prospective links between food parenting practices and children's weight outcomes. Three databases were searched. All titles, abstracts and full-texts were double screened by two independent reviewers. Peer-reviewed journal articles published after 1990 assessing the prospective asso...

Risky behaviors, such as substance use and unprotected sex, are associated with various physical and mental health problems. Recent genome-wide association studies indicated that variation in the cell adhesion molecule 2 (CADM2) gene plays a role in risky behaviors and self-control. In this phenome-wide scan for risky behavior, it was tested if und...

Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable morbidity and mortality. Genetic variation contributes to initiation, regular smoking, nicotine dependence, and cessation. We present a Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND)-based genome-wide association study in 58,000 European or African ancestry smokers. We observe five genome-wide s...

BACKGROUND The family environment plays an important role in the development of children’s energy-balance related behaviors (EBRBs). As a result, parents’ energy-balance parenting practices (EBRPPs) are eminent targets of preventive childhood obesity programs. Families with a lower socioeconomic position (SEP) may benefit from participating in such...

Background The family environment plays an important role in the development of children’s energy balance–related behaviors. As a result, parents’ energy balance–related parenting practices are important targets of preventive childhood obesity programs. Families with a lower socioeconomic position (SEP) may benefit from participating in such progra...

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a severely impairing neurodevelopmental disorder with a prevalence of 5% in children and adolescents and of 2.5% in adults. Comorbid conditions in ADHD play a key role in symptom progression, disorder course and outcome. ADHD is associated with a significantly increased risk for substance use, abus...

People with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or other psychiatric disorders show high rates of nicotine dependence (ND). This comorbidity might be (partly) explained by shared genetic factors. Genetic correlations between ND and ADHD (or other psychiatric disorders) have not yet been estimated. A significant genetic correlation might...

Background Structural variation in subcortical brain regions has been linked to substance use, including the most prevalent substances nicotine and alcohol. It may be that pre-existing differences in subcortical brain volume affect smoking and alcohol use, but there is also evidence that smoking and alcohol use can lead to structural changes. We as...

Our current society is characterized by an increased availability of industrially processed foods with high salt, fat and sugar content. How is it that some people prefer these unhealthy foods while others prefer more healthy foods? It is suggested that both genetic and environmental factors play a role. The aim of this study was to (1) identify fo...

Background Poor sleep quality and insomnia have been associated with the use of tobacco, alcohol, and cannabis, but it is unclear if there is a causal link. In this Mendelian Randomization (MR) study we examine if insomnia causes substance use and/or if substance use causes insomnia. Methods MR uses summary effect estimates from a genome-wide asso...

Background The use of illicit substances is correlated, meaning that individuals who use one illicit substance are more likely to also use another illicit substance. This association could (partly) be explained by overlapping genetic factors. Genetic overlap may indicate a common underlying genetic predisposition, or can be the result of a causal a...

Background Changes in adolescent dietary and sedentary behaviors contribute to adolescence being one of the most vulnerable periods for the development of overweight and overweight-related morbidity. Children become more autonomous during adolescence, particularly in regard to decision-making over their own health behaviors. Despite this expanding...

Background Growing evidence suggests that maternal mental health issues are associated with (young) children’s weight outcomes. However, most studies have been limited by cross-sectional designs and have been aimed at (younger) children. The current prospective study focuses on the link between maternal mental health (i.e., psychological stress and...

Background: Poor sleep quality and insomnia have been associated with the use of tobacco, alcohol, and cannabis, but it is unclear if there is a causal link. In this Mendelian Randomization (MR) study we examine if insomnia causes substance use and/or if substance use causes insomnia. Methods: MR uses summary effect estimates from a genome-wide ass...

Both mothers’ and best friends’ food intake are associated with adolescents’ food intake, but they are rarely investigated simultaneously. In this study, we tested the associations of mothers’ and best friends’ food intake with adolescents’ intake of unhealthy and healthy food, obtained from home and from outside the home, and the moderating role o...

Background Caffeine, alcohol, nicotine and cannabis are commonly used psychoactive substances. While the use of these substances has been previously shown to be genetically correlated, causality between these substance use traits remains unclear. We aimed to revisit the genetic relationships among different measures of SU using genome-wide associat...

Objective Ecstasy is one of the most commonly used illicit substances in Western countries. The aim of this study is to identify characteristics of ecstasy users in a large population-based sample of adults aged 18-45 years. Method With generalized estimating equation models we explored the association between self-reported lifetime ecstasy use an...

Background Tobacco, alcohol, and cannabis use are prevalent behaviors that pose considerable health risks. Genetic vulnerability and characteristics of the neighborhood of residence form important risk factors for substance use. Possibly, these factors do not act in isolation. This study tested the interaction between neighborhood characteristics a...

Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable morbidity and mortality. Knowledge is evolving on genetics underlying initiation, regular smoking, nicotine dependence (ND), and cessation. We performed a genome-wide association study using the Fagerström Test for ND (FTND) in 58,000 smokers of European or African ancestry. Five genome-wide sig...

Introduction FTND (Fagerstrӧm test for nicotine dependence) and TTFC (time to smoke first cigarette in the morning) are common measures of nicotine dependence (ND). However, genome-wide meta-analysis for these phenotypes has not been reported. Methods Genome-wide meta-analyses for FTND (N = 19,431) and TTFC (N = 18,567) phenotypes were conducted f...

Studies testing the effect of single genetic variants on substance use have had modest success. This paper reviewed 39 studies using polygenic measures to test interaction with any type of environmental exposure (G×E) in alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis use. Studies using haplotype combinations, sum scores of candidate-gene risk alleles, and polygeni...

Several occurrences of the word ‘schizophrenia’ have been re-worded as ‘liability to schizophrenia’ or ‘schizophrenia risk’, including in the title, which should have been “GWAS of lifetime cannabis use reveals new risk loci, genetic overlap with psychiatric traits, and a causal effect of schizophrenia liability,” as well as in Supplementary Figure...

A commentary on Di Forti et al., 2019: 'The contribution of cannabis use to variation in the incidence of psychotic disorder across Europe (EU-GEI): a multicentre case-control study.'

The development of a questionnaire concerning food parenting practices.

The interrelations among well-being, neuroticism, and depression can be captured in a so-called well-being spectrum (3-phenotype well-being spectrum, 3-WBS). Several other human traits are likely linked to the 3-WBS. In the present study, we investigate how the 3-WBS can be expanded. First, we constructed polygenic risk scores for the 3-WBS and use...

In the original version of this article, unfortunately, in the acknowledgement section “National Institutes of Health (NIH, R37 AG033590‐08) to J Cacioppo” was omitted. This has been corrected by publishing this erratum.

Not much is known regarding underlying biological pathways to adolescents’ loneliness. Insight in underlying molecular mechanisms could inform intervention efforts aimed at reducing loneliness. Using latent growth curve modeling, baseline levels and development of loneliness were studied in two longitudinal adolescent samples. Genes (OXTR, OXT, AVP...

Conduct problems in children and adolescents can predict antisocial personality disorder and related problems, such as crime and conviction. We sought an explanation for such predictions by performing a genetic longitudinal analysis. We estimated the effects of genetic, shared environmental, and unique environmental factors on variation in conduct...

Cigarette smoking is a leading cause of preventable mortality worldwide. Nicotine dependence, which reduces the likelihood of quitting smoking, is a heritable trait with firmly established associations with sequence variants in nicotine acetylcholine receptor genes and at other loci. To search for additional loci, we conducted a genome-wide associa...

Cannabis use is a heritable trait that has been associated with adverse mental health outcomes. In the largest genome-wide association study (GWAS) for lifetime cannabis use to date (N = 184,765), we identified eight genome-wide significant independent single nucleotide polymorphisms in six regions. All measured genetic variants combined explained...

Introduction: Cigarette smoking and cannabis use are heritable traits and share, at least in part, a common genetic substrate. In recent years the prevalence of alternative methods of nicotine intakes, such as e-cigarette and water pipe use, has risen substantially. We tested whether the genetic vulnerability underlying cigarettes smoking and canna...

Background and aims Cannabis is one of the most commonly used substances among adolescents and young adults. Earlier age at cannabis initiation is linked to adverse life outcomes including multi‐substance use and dependence. This study estimated the heritability of age at first cannabis use and identify associations with genetic variants. Methods...

Poster presented at the BSI day of 2018.

Background Body mass index (BMI) is correlated negatively with subjective well-being and positively with depressive symptoms. Whether these associations reflect causal effects is unclear. Methods We examined bidirectional, causal effects between BMI and mental health with Mendelian randomisation using summary-level data from published genome-wide...

Background: There is high comorbidity between antisocial behaviour (ASB) and substance use, and twin studies have shown that part of the covariation is due to overlapping genetic influences. Here we used measured genetic effects to estimate the genetic correlations of ASB with nicotine, alcohol, and cannabis use. Methods: We meta-analysed data f...

Alternative tobacco products are increasing in popularity. An important question is whether their use is associated with or even leads to conventional smoking, but large-scale (European) studies are scarce. In two cohorts of Dutch adolescents (Cohort I n = 6819, mean age = 13.8 SD = 1.1, 48.2% female; Cohort II n = 2758, mean age = 17.3 SD = 1.8, 6...

Background and aims: Epidemiological studies consistently show co-occurrence of use of different addictive substances. Whether these associations are causal or due to overlapping underlying influences remains an important question in addiction research. Methodological advances have made it possible to use published genetic associations to infer ca...

Cannabis use is a heritable trait [1] that has been associated with adverse mental health outcomes. To identify risk variants and improve our knowledge of the genetic etiology of cannabis use, we performed the largest genome-wide association study (GWAS) meta-analysis for lifetime cannabis use (N=184,765) to date. We identified 4 independent loci c...

For the participants in the Netherlands Twin Register (NTR) we constructed the extended pedigrees which specify all relations among nuclear and larger twin families in the register. A total of 253,015 subjects from 58,645 families were linked to each other, to the degree that we had information on the relations among participants. We describe the a...

Introduction: The common genetic variant (rs1051730) in the 15q24 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor gene cluster CHRNA5-CHRNA3-CHRNB4 was associated with smoking quantity and has been reported to be associated also with reduced ability to quit smoking in pregnant women but results were inconsistent in non pregnant women. The aim of this study was t...

Background: Genetic and environmental factors contribute about equally to alcohol-related phenotypes in adulthood. In the present study, we examined whether more stress at home or low satisfaction with life might be associated with heavier drinking or more alcohol-related problems in individuals with a high genetic susceptibility to alcohol use....

Although parents often report positive intentions to promote and create a healthy food environment for their children (e.g., setting limits to snacks offered), they also experience difficulties in translating these intentions into actual behaviors. In this position paper, we argue that automatic processes explain an important part of the gap betwee...