Genome-wide Association Study of Parental Life Span.
BACKGROUND
Having longer lived parents has been shown to be an important predictor of health trajectories and life span. As such, parental life span is an important phenotype that may uncover genes that affect longevity.


METHODS
A genome-wide association study of parental life span in participants of European and African ancestry from the Health and Retirement Study was conducted.


RESULTS
A genome-wide significant association was observed for rs35715456 (log10BF = 6.3) on chromosome 18 for the dichotomous trait of having at least one long-lived parent versus not having any long-lived parent. This association was not replicated in an independent sample from the InCHIANTI and Framingham Heart Study. The most significant association among single nucleotide polymorphisms in longevity candidate genes (APOE, MINIPP1, FOXO3, EBF1, CAMKIV, and OTOL1) was observed in the EBF1 gene region (rs17056207, p = .0002).


CONCLUSIONS
A promising genetic signal for parental life span was identified but was not replicated in independent samples.
Translational Gerontology Branch, National Institute on Aging, Baltimore, Maryland.
Toshiko
T
Tanaka
Public Health Foundation of India, Bhubaneswar, Odisha,India.
Ambarish
A
Dutta
Epidemiology and Public Health Group, University of Exeter Medical School, UK.
Luke C
LC
Pilling
Department of Biostatistics, Boston University School of Public Health, Massachusetts.
Luting
L
Xue
National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute's and Boston University's Framingham Heart Study, Massachusetts.|Department of Biostatistics, Boston University School of Public Health, Massachusetts.
Kathryn L
KL
Lunetta
National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute's and Boston University's Framingham Heart Study, Massachusetts.|Section of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, Massachusetts.
Joanne M
JM
Murabito
Geriatric Unit, Azienda Sanitaria Firenze (ASF), Florence, Italy.
Stefania
S
Bandinelli
Department of Epidemiology, University of Iowa College of Public Health.
Robert
R
Wallace
Epidemiology and Public Health Group, University of Exeter Medical School, UK.
David
D
Melzer
Translational Gerontology Branch, National Institute on Aging, Baltimore, Maryland.
Luigi
L
Ferrucci
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002887:Chromosomes, Human, Pair 18; D005260:Female; D055106:Genome-Wide Association Study; D006801:Humans; D008136:Longevity / Q000235:genetics*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010290:Parents; D010641:Phenotype; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D015534:Trans-Activators / Q000235:genetics*
C081976:EBF1 protein, human; D015534:Trans-Activators
Epidemiology; Genetics; Life span; Public health; Successful aging