An international team of researchers has identified
74 areas of the human genome associated with
educational attainment. It is well known that social
and other environmental factors influence education,
but these findings, suggest that large genetics
analyses may be able to help discover biological
pathways as well..
The SSGAC, led by Daniel J. Benjamin, Ph.D., of the
University of Southern California, found 74 separate
areas (loci) on human chromosomes that are
associated with more years of education. These loci
are also associated with other areas that correlate
with increased cognitive performance and
intracranial volume, decreased levels of emotional
instability (neuroticism) and decreased risk of
Alzheimer’s disease.
The researchers conducted the GWAS on almost 294,000
people, of primarily European descent, from research
across the globe. Genetic samples were obtained from
several ongoing studies, including many funded by
NIA: the Health and Retirement Study, the Age,
Gene/Environment Susceptibility Reykjavic Study, and
the SardiNIA Study of Aging, as well as dozens of
other cohorts. Crucially, the team then replicated
these findings in an independent sample of more than
111,000 people from the UK BioBank study.
Previous research has shown that genetic factors
account for about 20 percent of variation in
educational attainment. In this study, 74 single
nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified. The
investigators note that, as a group, these SNPs only
account for a very small portion (0.43 percent) of
the variation across individuals in the sample;
individually, each SNP has a very small influence.
The study team regards this study as preliminary and
exploratory. Because educational attainment is a
complex phenomenon, there are many additional
sources of molecular genetic variation to be
discovered. Other genetic and environmental effects
and their interactions are important topics for
future research.
“These study results will enable us to ask more
refined questions about the genetic and
environmental underpinnings of educational
attainment and their health consequences,” said
Jonathan W. King, Ph.D., program director in NIA’s
Division of Behavioral and Social Research, which
supports the SSGAC. “For example, we’ve known for
quite a while that education appears to be a
protective factor against Alzheimer’s. But,
education is itself a very complicated outcome. It
depends on genetic contributions to cognitive
ability and other characteristics that motivate
individuals to continue education, as well as
substantial environmental contributions to
educational success.
“The results of this study and future work will
enable us to better understand how these pathways
interact,” King continued. “Perhaps ultimately,
we’ll be able to learn why and how educational
attainment seems to be protective of cognition in
later life.”
The size of the study made it possible to answer
questions not able to be addressed previously. For
example, the researchers were able to identify many
more loci that appear to contribute to cognitive
ability than had been previously known because of
the large number of participants.
The study has implications for future research,
where these links can be further explored. Data on
the level of education attained by participants is
routinely collected. With that information and a DNA
sample, investigators can conduct additional GWAS of
other racial and ethnic groups, which could allow
identification of new variants and genetic pathways
associated with educational attainment and further
validate the contribution of loci from the study
reported today.
The genome-wide association study (GWAS) was
supported by the National Institute on Aging (NIA)
and the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences
Research, both part of NIH, and appears in the May
11, 2016, issue of Nature.
The research was coordinated by SSGAC. Funded by the
NIA, the SSGAC is a cooperative enterprise among
biomedical researchers and social scientists that
coordinates genetic association studies for social
science outcomes and provides a platform for
interdisciplinary collaboration.
For more information
Nature
Genome-wide association study identifies 74 loci
associated with educational attainment
Link...
U.S. National Institute on Aging
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