Common Genetic Variants Explain the Majority of the Correlation Between Height and Intelligence: The Generation Scotland Study

Greater height and higher intelligence test scores are predictors of better health outcomes. Here, we used molecular (single-nucleotide polymorphism) data to estimate the genetic correlation between height and general intelligence (g) in 6,815 unrelated subjects (median age 57, IQR 49–63) from the G...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inBehavior genetics Vol. 44; no. 2; pp. 91 - 96
Main Authors Marioni, Riccardo E., Batty, G. David, Hayward, Caroline, Kerr, Shona M., Campbell, Archie, Hocking, Lynne J., Porteous, David J., Visscher, Peter M., Deary, Ian J.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Boston Springer US 01.03.2014
Springer Nature B.V
Subjects
Adult
Aged
Behavioral Science and Psychology
Body Height - genetics
Cardiovascular disease
Clinical Psychology
Cohort Studies
Epidemiology
Female
Genetic factors
Genetic Variation
Genetics
Genotype
Health Psychology
Health status
Heritability
Humans
Intelligence
Intelligence - genetics
Intelligence tests
Male
Medical research
Medicine
Middle Aged
Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis
Original Research
Phenotype
Psychology
Public Health
Research ethics
Scotland
Test scores
Variants
Scotland
United Kingdom > UK
Genetic correlation
Height
Generation Scotland
Intelligence
Molecular genetics
Online AccessGet full text
ISSN0001-8244
1573-3297
1573-3297
DOI10.1007/s10519-014-9644-z

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Summary:Greater height and higher intelligence test scores are predictors of better health outcomes. Here, we used molecular (single-nucleotide polymorphism) data to estimate the genetic correlation between height and general intelligence (g) in 6,815 unrelated subjects (median age 57, IQR 49–63) from the Generation Scotland: Scottish Family Health Study cohort. The phenotypic correlation between height and g was 0.16 (SE 0.01). The genetic correlation between height and g was 0.28 (SE 0.09) with a bivariate heritability estimate of 0.71. Understanding the molecular basis of the correlation between height and intelligence may help explain any shared role in determining health outcomes. This study identified a modest genetic correlation between height and intelligence with the majority of the phenotypic correlation being explained by shared genetic influences.
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ISSN:0001-8244
1573-3297
1573-3297
DOI:10.1007/s10519-014-9644-z