The international project SCALE, led by a team from RECETOX at Masaryk University, examines how the genetic risk for impulsivity develops during childhood and how it affects health in adulthood. Comparing Czech and British longitudinal cohort studies, the project offers the most comprehensive insight to date into the relationship between impulsivity, risk-taking behaviour, and the development of lifestyle-related diseases.
How does genetic risk for impulsivity develop during childhood, and what is its effect on health in later life? This question is at the core of the new international project SCALE, led by a research team from RECETOX at Masaryk University. The project utilizes Czech and British longitudinal cohorts to arrive at robust findings not dependent on a single country. “We want to understand how genetic risk for impulsivity is shaped during childhood and how it can affect health outcomes decades later,” says the project’s principal investigator, Albert Kšiňan, a social epidemiology researcher at RECETOX.
SCALE integrates insights from epidemiology, psychology, and genetics, thereby contributing to a deeper understanding of why certain segments of the population are more prone to risk-taking behaviours that may lead to lifestyle-related diseases. High levels of impulsivity are often linked to problematic alcohol use, smoking, unhealthy eating habits, or obesity. “These risk behaviours are major factors in the development of lifestyle diseases and premature mortality. Better understanding of their genetic underpinnings will enable us to target preventive programs more effectively,” Kšiňan explains.
Lifestyle-related diseases are the leading cause of death in developed countries, including the Czech Republic, giving this research a significant societal relevance, as it improves our understanding of the mechanisms that precede these illnesses. SCALE is also the first population genetics study focused on impulsivity using a Czech sample. “This is a step that Czech research has long needed. We have a unique opportunity to observe genetic and behavioural patterns in two countries and compare their development,” adds Kšiňan.
The project also involves international experts, including Prof. Danielle Dick from the Rutgers Addiction Research Center at Rutgers University in the USA and Prof. Martin Bobák from University College London. The team expects the project to result in several scientific publications as well as presentations at international conferences. “We believe that the SCALE project will provide valuable data to help us better understand why some people are more prone to risk-taking behaviour—and how these mechanisms can be prevented,” Kšiňan concludes.
Sabina Cerulová originally planned to study veterinary medicine, but coincidence, the covid‑19 pandemic, and her bachelor’s project led her to research at RECETOX. Today, she studies a rare genetic mutation responsible for severe symptoms in a specific patient, and she works with animal models, microbiome, and advanced imaging methods.
