A meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies identifies multiple longevity genes

Joris Deelen, Daniel S. Evans, Dan E. Arking, Niccolò Tesi, Marianne Nygaard, Xiaomin Liu, Mary K. Wojczynski, Mary L. Biggs, Ashley van der Spek, Gil Atzmon, Erin B. Ware, Chloé Sarnowski, Albert V. Smith, Ilkka Seppälä, Heather J. Cordell, Janina Dose, Najaf Amin, Alice M. Arnold, Kristin L. Ayers, Nir BarzilaiElizabeth J. Becker, Marian Beekman, Hélène Blanché, Kaare Christensen, Lene Christiansen, Joanna C. Collerton, Sarah Cubaynes, Steven R. Cummings, Karen Davies, Birgit Debrabant, Jean François Deleuze, Rachel Duncan, Jessica D. Faul, Claudio Franceschi, Pilar Galan, Vilmundur Gudnason, Tamara B. Harris, Martijn Huisman, Mikko A. Hurme, Carol Jagger, Iris Jansen, Marja Jylhä, Mika Kähönen, David Karasik, Sharon L.R. Kardia, Andrew Kingston, Thomas B.L. Kirkwood, Lenore J. Launer, Terho Lehtimäki, Wolfgang Lieb, Leo Pekka Lyytikäinen, Carmen Martin-Ruiz, Junxia Min, Almut Nebel, Anne B. Newman, Chao Nie, Ellen A. Nohr, Eric S. Orwoll, Thomas T. Perls, Michael A. Province, Bruce M. Psaty, Olli T. Raitakari, Marcel J.T. Reinders, Jean Marie Robine, Jerome I. Rotter, Paola Sebastiani, Jennifer Smith, Thorkild I.A. Sørensen, Kent D. Taylor, André G. Uitterlinden, Wiesje van der Flier, Sven J. van der Lee, Cornelia M. van Duijn, Diana van Heemst, James W. Vaupel, David Weir, Kenny Ye, Yi Zeng, Wanlin Zheng, Henne Holstege, Douglas P. Kiel, Kathryn L. Lunetta, P. Eline Slagboom, Joanne M. Murabito

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216 Scopus citations

Abstract

Human longevity is heritable, but genome-wide association (GWA) studies have had limited success. Here, we perform two meta-analyses of GWA studies of a rigorous longevity phenotype definition including 11,262/3484 cases surviving at or beyond the age corresponding to the 90th/99th survival percentile, respectively, and 25,483 controls whose age at death or at last contact was at or below the age corresponding to the 60th survival percentile. Consistent with previous reports, rs429358 (apolipoprotein E (ApoE) ε4) is associated with lower odds of surviving to the 90th and 99th percentile age, while rs7412 (ApoE ε2) shows the opposite. Moreover, rs7676745, located near GPR78, associates with lower odds of surviving to the 90th percentile age. Gene-level association analysis reveals a role for tissue-specific expression of multiple genes in longevity. Finally, genetic correlation of the longevity GWA results with that of several disease-related phenotypes points to a shared genetic architecture between health and longevity.

Original languageEnglish
Article number3669
JournalNature Communications
Volume10
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 14 Aug 2019

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© 2019, The Author(s).

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