title: Genetic variants linked to education predict longevity.
abstract: 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 ndeaths= 79,702) and ∼2.4% lower risk for fathers (total ndeaths= 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.
authors: Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9JZ, United Kingdom; Riccardo.Marioni@ed.ac.uk.|Medical Genetics Section, Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, United Kingdom.|Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia.
authors: Riccardo E
authors: RE
authors: Marioni
authors: Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9JZ, United Kingdom.|Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9JZ, United Kingdom.
authors: Stuart J
authors: SJ
authors: Ritchie
authors: Usher Institute for Population Health Sciences and Informatics, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH16 4UX, United Kingdom.
authors: Peter K
authors: PK
authors: Joshi
authors: Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9JZ, United Kingdom.|Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9JZ, United Kingdom.|Division of Psychiatry, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9YL, United Kingdom.
authors: Saskia P
authors: SP
authors: Hagenaars
authors: Department of Applied Economics, Erasmus School of Economics, Erasmus University, 3062 PA Rotterdam, The Netherlands.|Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus Medical Center, 3015 CE Rotterdam, The Netherlands.|Erasmus University Rotterdam Institute for Behavior and Biology, Rotterdam 3062 PA, The Netherlands.
authors: Aysu
authors: 0000-0002-5170-7781
authors: A
authors: Okbay
authors: Estonian Genome Center, University of Tartu, Tartu 51010, Estonia.
authors: Krista
authors: K
authors: Fischer
authors: Division of Psychiatry, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9YL, United Kingdom.
authors: Mark J
authors: MJ
authors: Adams
authors: Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9JZ, United Kingdom.|Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9JZ, United Kingdom.
authors: W David
authors: WD
authors: Hill
authors: Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9JZ, United Kingdom.|Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9JZ, United Kingdom.
authors: Gail
authors: G
authors: Davies
authors: Medical Research Council Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, United Kingdom.
authors: Reka
authors: R
authors: Nagy
authors: Medical Research Council Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, United Kingdom.
authors: Carmen
authors: C
authors: Amador
authors: Estonian Genome Center, University of Tartu, Tartu 51010, Estonia.|Institute of Mathematical Statistics, University of Tartu, Tartu 50409, Estonia.
authors: Kristi
authors: K
authors: Läll
authors: Estonian Genome Center, University of Tartu, Tartu 51010, Estonia.
authors: Andres
authors: A
authors: Metspalu
authors: Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9JZ, United Kingdom.|Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9JZ, United Kingdom.
authors: David C
authors: DC
authors: Liewald
authors: Medical Genetics Section, Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, United Kingdom.
authors: Archie
authors: 0000-0003-0198-5078
authors: A
authors: Campbell
authors: Usher Institute for Population Health Sciences and Informatics, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH16 4UX, United Kingdom.|Medical Research Council Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, United Kingdom.
authors: James F
authors: JF
authors: Wilson
authors: Medical Research Council Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, United Kingdom.
authors: Caroline
authors: C
authors: Hayward
authors: Estonian Genome Center, University of Tartu, Tartu 51010, Estonia.|Institute of Mathematical Statistics, University of Tartu, Tartu 50409, Estonia.|Broad Institute, Cambridge, MA 02142.|Department of Endocrinology, Children's Hospital Boston, Boston, MA 02115.
authors: Tõnu
authors: T
authors: Esko
authors: Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9JZ, United Kingdom.|Medical Genetics Section, Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, United Kingdom.
authors: David J
authors: DJ
authors: Porteous
authors: Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9JZ, United Kingdom.|Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9JZ, United Kingdom.|Medical Research Council Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, United Kingdom.
authors: Catharine R
authors: CR
authors: Gale
authors: Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9JZ, United Kingdom.|Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9JZ, United Kingdom.
authors: Ian J
authors: IJ
authors: Deary
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015331:Cohort Studies; D030541:Databases, Genetic; D004522:Educational Status; D004957:Estonia; D005260:Female; D056726:Genetic Association Studies / Q000379:methods*; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006801:Humans; D008136:Longevity; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020412:Multifactorial Inheritance; D010290:Parents; D012606:Scotland; D006113:United Kingdom
keywords: education; genetics; longevity; polygenic score; prediction