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Genome-wide association analyses of risk tolerance and risky behaviors in over 1 million individuals identify hundreds of loci and shared genetic influences
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Genome-wide association analyses of risk tolerance and risky behaviors in over 1 million individuals identify hundreds of loci and shared genetic influences

Richard Karlsson Linnér, Pietro Biroli, Edward Kong, S Fleur W Meddens, Robbee Wedow, Mark Alan Fontana, Maël Lebreton, Stephen P Tino, Abdel Abdellaoui, Anke R Hammerschlag, …
Nature genetics, Vol.51(2), pp.245-257
02/01/2019
DOI: 10.1038/s41588-018-0309-3
PMCID: PMC6713272
PMID: 30643258

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Abstract

Humans vary substantially in their willingness to take risks. In a combined sample of over 1 million individuals, we conducted genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of general risk tolerance, adventurousness, and risky behaviors in the driving, drinking, smoking, and sexual domains. Across all GWAS, we identified hundreds of associated loci, including 99 loci associated with general risk tolerance. We report evidence of substantial shared genetic influences across risk tolerance and the risky behaviors: 46 of the 99 general risk tolerance loci contain a lead SNP for at least one of our other GWAS, and general risk tolerance is genetically correlated ([Formula: see text] ~ 0.25 to 0.50) with a range of risky behaviors. Bioinformatics analyses imply that genes near SNPs associated with general risk tolerance are highly expressed in brain tissues and point to a role for glutamatergic and GABAergic neurotransmission. We found no evidence of enrichment for genes previously hypothesized to relate to risk tolerance.
Behavior - physiology Case-Control Studies Female Genetic Loci - genetics Genetic Predisposition to Disease - genetics Genetics, Behavioral - methods Genome-Wide Association Study - methods Genotype Humans Male Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide - genetics

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