Genetic variants linked to education predict longevity

TY - JOUR

T1 - Genetic variants linked to education predict longevity

AU - Marioni, R. E.

AU - Ritchie, S. J.

AU - Joshi, P. K.

AU - Hagenaars, S. P.

AU - Okbay, A.

AU - Fischer, K.

AU - Adams, M. J.

AU - Hill, W. D.

AU - Davies, G.

AU - Nagy, R.

AU - Amador, C.

AU - Läll, K.

AU - Metspalu, A.

AU - Liewald, D. C.

AU - Campbell, A.

AU - Wilson, J. F.

AU - Hayward, C.

AU - Esko, T.

AU - Porteous, D. J.

AU - Gale, C. R.

AU - Deary, I. J.

AU - Okbay, A.

AU - Beauchamp, J. P.

AU - Fontana, M. A.

AU - Lee, J. J.

AU - Pers, T. H.

AU - Rietveld, C. A.

AU - Turley, P.

AU - Chen, G. B.

AU - Emilsson, V.

AU - Meddens, S. F.

AU - Oskarsson, S.

AU - Pickrell, J. K.

AU - Thom, K.

AU - Timshel, P.

AU - de Vlaming, R.

AU - Abdellaoui, A.

AU - Ahluwalia, T. S.

AU - Bacelis, J.

AU - Baumbach, C.

AU - Bjornsdottir, G.

AU - Brandsma, J. H.

AU - Concas, M. P.

AU - Derringer, J.

AU - Furlotte, N. A.

AU - Galesloot, T. E.

AU - Girotto, G.

AU - Gupta, R.

AU - Hall, L. M.

AU - Smith, B. H.

PY - 2016/11/22

Y1 - 2016/11/22

N2 - Educational attainment is associated with many health outcomes, including longevity. It is also known to be substantially heritable. Here, we used data from three large genetic epidemiology cohort studies (Generation Scotland, n = ∼17,000; UK Biobank, n = ∼115,000; and the Estonian Biobank, n = ∼6,000) to test whether education-linked genetic variants can predict lifespan length. We did so by using cohort members' polygenic profile score for education to predict their parents' longevity. Across the three cohorts, meta-analysis showed that a 1 SD higher polygenic education score was associated with ∼2.7% lower mortality risk for both mothers (total n deaths = 79,702) and ∼2.4% lower risk for fathers (total n deaths = 97,630). On average, the parents of offspring in the upper third of the polygenic score distribution lived 0.55 y longer compared with those of offspring in the lower third. Overall, these results indicate that the genetic contributions to educational attainment are useful in the prediction of human longevity.

AB - Educational attainment is associated with many health outcomes, including longevity. It is also known to be substantially heritable. Here, we used data from three large genetic epidemiology cohort studies (Generation Scotland, n = ∼17,000; UK Biobank, n = ∼115,000; and the Estonian Biobank, n = ∼6,000) to test whether education-linked genetic variants can predict lifespan length. We did so by using cohort members' polygenic profile score for education to predict their parents' longevity. Across the three cohorts, meta-analysis showed that a 1 SD higher polygenic education score was associated with ∼2.7% lower mortality risk for both mothers (total n deaths = 79,702) and ∼2.4% lower risk for fathers (total n deaths = 97,630). On average, the parents of offspring in the upper third of the polygenic score distribution lived 0.55 y longer compared with those of offspring in the lower third. Overall, these results indicate that the genetic contributions to educational attainment are useful in the prediction of human longevity.

KW - Education

KW - Genetics

KW - Longevity

KW - Polygenic score

KW - Prediction

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/84996555363

U2 - 10.1073/pnas.1605334113

DO - 10.1073/pnas.1605334113

M3 - Article

C2 - 27799538

AN - SCOPUS:84996555363

SN - 0027-8424

VL - 113

SP - 13366

EP - 13371

JO - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

JF - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

IS - 47

ER -