Genetic linkage and association analysis for loneliness in Dutch twin and sibling pairs points to a region on chromosome 12q23-24.
We obtained evidence from a large study in Dutch twins (N=8,387) and siblings (N=2,295) that variation in loneliness has a genetic component. The heritability estimate for loneliness, which was assessed as an ordinal trait, was 40% and did not differ between males and females. There were 682 sibling pairs with genotypic (around 400 microsatellite markers) data. We combined phenotypic and genotypic data to carry out a genome scan to localize QTLs for loneliness. One region on chromosome 12q23.3-24.3, showed near suggestive linkage. Genetic association tests within this region revealed significant association (p-value 0.009) with one of the alleles of marker D12S79 and with one of the alleles of neighbouring marker D12S395 (p-value 0.043). We review evidence for linkage in this region for psychiatric disorders and discuss our findings within this context.
Boomsma
Dorret I
DI
Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. di.boomsma@psy.vu.nl
Cacioppo
John T
JT
Slagboom
P Eline
PE
Posthuma
Danielle
D
D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D002881:Chromosomes, Human, Pair 12; D005260:Female; D008040:Genetic Linkage; D015894:Genome, Human; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008132:Loneliness; D008297:Male; D009154:Mutation; D009426:Netherlands; D010641:Phenotype; D035781:Siblings