Genetic variants linked to education predict longevity
Marioni RE., Ritchie SJ., Joshi PK., Hagenaars SP., Okbay A., Fischer K., Adams MJ., Hill WD., Davies G., Nagy R., Amador C., Läll K., Metspalu A., Liewald DC., Campbell A., Wilson JF., Hayward C., Esko T., Porteous DJ., Gale CR., Deary IJ., Okbay A., Beauchamp JP., Fontana MA., Lee JJ., Pers TH., Rietveld CA., Turley P., Chen181 G-B., Emilsson V., Meddens SFW., Oskarsson S., Pickrell JK., Thom K., Timshel P., de Vlaming R., Abdellaoui A., Ahluwalia TS., Bacelis J., Baumbach C., Bjornsdottir G., Brandsma JH., Concas MP., Derringer J., Furlotte NA., Galesloot TE., Girotto G., Gupta R., Hall LM., Harris SE., Hofer E., Horikoshi M., Huffman JE., Kaasik K., Kalafati IP., Karlsson R., Kong A., Lahti J., van der Lee SJ., de Leeuw C., Lind PA., Lindgren K-O., Liu T., Mangino M., Marten J., Mihailov E., Miller MB., van der Most PJ., Oldmeadow C., Payton A., Pervjakova N., Peyrot WJ., Qian Y., Raitakari O., Rueedi R., Salvi E., Schmidt B., Schraut KE., Shi J., Smith AV., Poot RA., St Pourcain B., Teumer A., Thorleifsson G., Verweij N., Vuckovic D., Wellmann J., Westra H-J., Yang J., Zhao W., Zhu Z., Alizadeh BZ., Amin N., Bakshi A., Baumeister SE., Biino G., Bønnelykke K., Boyle PA., Campbell H., Cappuccio FP., Davies G., De Neve J-E., Deloukas P., Demuth I., Ding J., Eibich P., Eisele L., Eklund N., Evans DM., Faul JD., Feitosa MF., Forstner AJ., Gandin I., Gunnarsson B., Halldórsson BV., Harris TB., Heath AC., Hocking LJ., Holliday EG., Homuth G., Horan MA., Hottenga J-J., de Jager PL., Joshi PK., Jugessur A., Kaakinen MA., Kähönen M., Kanoni S., Keltigangas-Järvinen L., Kiemeney LALM., Kolcic I., Koskinen S., Kraja AT., Kroh M., Kutalik Z., Latvala A., Launer LJ., Lebreton MP., Levinson DF., Lichtenstein P., Lichtner P., Liewald DCM., Loukola A., Madden PA., Mägi R., Mäki-Opas T., Marioni RE., Marques-Vidal P., Meddens GA., McMahon G., Meisinger C., Meitinger T., Milaneschi Y., Milani L., Montgomery GW., Myhre R., Nelson CP., Nyholt DR., Ollier WER., Palotie A., Paternoster L., Pedersen NL., Petrovic KE., Porteous DJ., Räikkönen K., Ring SM., Robino A., Rostapshova O., Rudan I., Rustichini A., Salomaa V., Sanders AR., Sarin A-P., Schmidt H., Scott RJ., Smith BH., Smith JA., Staessen JA., Steinhagen-Thiessen E., Strauch K., Terracciano A., Tobin MD., Ulivi S., Vaccargiu S., Quaye L., van Rooij FJA., Venturini C., Vinkhuyzen AAE., Völker U., Völzke H., Vonk JM., Vozzi D., Waage J., Ware EB., Willemsen G., Attia JR., Bennett DA., Berger K., Bertram L., Bisgaard H., Boomsma DI., Borecki IB., Bultmann U., Chabris CF., Cucca F., Cusi D., Deary IJ., Dedoussis GV., van Duijn CM., Eriksson JG., Franke B., Franke L., Gasparini P., Gejman PV., Gieger C., Grabe H-J., Gratten J., Groenen PJF., Gudnason V., van der Harst P., Hayward C., Hinds DA., Hoffmann W., Hypponen E., Iacono WG., Jacobsson B., Järvelin M-R., Jöckel K-H., Kaprio J., Kardia SLR., Lehtimäki T., Lehrer SF., Magnusson PKE., Martin NG., McGue M., Metspalu A., Pendleton N., Penninx BWJH., Perola M., Pirastu N., Pirastu M., Polasek O., Posthuma D., Power C., Province MA., Samani NJ., Schlessinger D., Schmidt R., Sørensen TIA., Spector TD., Stefansson K., Thorsteinsdottir U., Thurik AR., Timpson NJ., Tiemeier H., Tung JY., Uitterlinden AG., Vitart V., Vollenweider P., Weir DR., Wilson JF., Wright AF., Conley DC., Krueger RF., Smith GD., Hofman A., Laibson DI., Medland SE., Meyer MN., Yang J., Johannesson M., Visscher PM., Esko T., Koellinger PD., Cesarini D., Benjamin DJ.
Significance Individuals with more education tend to live longer. Genetic variants have been discovered that predict educational attainment. We tested whether a “polygenic score” based on these genetic variants could make predictions about people’s lifespan. We used data from three cohort studies (including >130,000 participants) to examine the link between offspring polygenic score for education and parental longevity. Across the studies, we found that participants with more education-linked genetic variants had longer-living parents; compared with those with the lowest genetic education scores, those with the highest scores had parents who lived on average 6 months longer. This finding suggests the hypothesis that part of the ultimate explanation for the extended longevity of better-educated people is an underlying, quantifiable, genetic propensity.