Rxivist combines preprints from bioRxiv with data from Twitter to help you find the papers being discussed in your field. Currently indexing 64,882 bioRxiv papers from 287,592 authors.

Variation in human lifespan is 20 to 30% heritable but few genetic variants have been identified. We undertook a Genome Wide Association Study (GWAS) using age at death of parents of middle-aged UK Biobank participants of European decent (n=75,244 with father's and/or mother's data). Genetic risk scores for 19 phenotypes (n=777 proven variants) were also tested. Genotyped variants (n=845,997) explained 10.2% (SD=1.3%) of combined parental longevity. In GWAS, a locus in the nicotine receptor CHRNA3 - previously associated with increased smoking and lung cancer - was associated with paternal age at death, with each protective allele (rs1051730[G]) being associated with 0.03 years later age at father's death (p=3x10-8). Offspring of longer lived parents had more protective alleles (lower genetic risk scores) for coronary artery disease, systolic blood pressure, body mass index, cholesterol and triglyceride levels, type-1 diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease and Alzheimer's disease. In candidate gene analyses, variants in the TOMM40/APOE locus were associated with longevity (including rs429358, p=3x10-5), but FOXO variants were not associated. These results support a multiple protective factors model for achieving longer lifespans in humans, with a prominent role for cardiovascular-related pathways. Several of these genetically influenced risks, including blood pressure and tobacco exposure, are potentially modifiable.

Download data

• Downloaded 1,127 times
• Download rankings, all-time:
  • Site-wide: 6,080 out of 64,882
  • In genomics: 1,006 out of 4,438
• Year to date:
  • Site-wide: 59,342 out of 64,882
• Since beginning of last month:
  • Site-wide: 58,744 out of 64,882

Altmetric data

Downloads over time

Distribution of downloads per paper, site-wide