Longevity candidate genes and their association with personality traits in the elderly

Michelle Luciano, Lorna M Lopez, Marleen H M de Moor, Sarah E Harris, Gail Davies, Teresa Nutile, Robert F Krueger, Tõnu Esko, David Schlessinger, Tanaka Toshiko, Jaime L Derringer, Anu Realo, Narelle K Hansell, Michele L Pergadia, Anu-Katriina Pesonen, Serena Sanna, Antonio Terracciano, Pamela A F Madden, Brenda Penninx, Philip SpinhovenCatherina A Hartman, Ben A Oostra, A Cecile J W Janssens, Johan G Eriksson, John Starr, Alessandra Cannas, Luigi Ferrucci, Andres Metspalu, Margeret J Wright, Andrew C Heath, Cornelia M van Duijn, Laura J Bierut, Katri Raikkonen, Nicholas G Martin, Marina Ciullo, Dan Rujescu, Dorret I Boomsma, Ian J Deary

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Human longevity and personality traits are both heritable and are consistently linked at the phenotypic level. We test the hypothesis that candidate genes influencing longevity in lower organisms are associated with variance in the five major dimensions of human personality (measured by the NEO-FFI and IPIP inventories) plus related mood states of anxiety and depression. Seventy single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in six brain expressed, longevity candidate genes (AFG3L2, FRAP1, MAT1A, MAT2A, SYNJ1, and SYNJ2) were typed in over 1,000 70-year old participants from the Lothian Birth Cohort of 1936 (LBC1936). No SNPs were associated with the personality and psychological distress traits at a Bonferroni corrected level of significance (P 60 years). Because we selected a specific set of longevity genes based on functional genomics findings, further research on other longevity gene candidates is warranted to discover whether they are relevant candidates for personality and psychological distress traits. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)192-200
Number of pages9
JournalAmerican Journal of Medical Genetics Part B: Neuropsychiatric Genetics
Volume159B
Issue number2
Early online date5 Dec 2011
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Mar 2012

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