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Murasko J. Height and cognitive assessments in a cohort of US schoolchildren, kindergarten through fifth grade. BIODEMOGRAPHY AND SOCIAL BIOLOGY 2024; 69:124-136. [PMID: 38813839 DOI: 10.1080/19485565.2024.2358906] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/31/2024]
Abstract
An oft-repeated finding in child development research is that height and cognitive ability are positively related. Much of this work is limited in its ability to track height and cognitive development over time, with key constraints being the availability of longitudinal data and measures of ability that are comparable over time. This study evaluates the associations between height and assessments of reading, math, and science in a representative sample of US schoolchildren followed from kindergarten through fifth grade. Associations between height and assessment scores at each grade level, and height-growth and changes in scores over grade levels, are examined. The results suggest modest associations between concurrent height and assessment scores at each grade level that are robust to socioeconomic and school controls. There is limited association between height-growth and assessment outcomes, which is shown only for females. There is also little indication that height or height-growth is associated with improvements in scores. The findings suggest a modest association between height and cognitive ability in contemporary US schoolchildren, being attributed mostly to growth before kindergarten. The findings are consistent with the view that social and biological forces in early-life facilitate both physical and cognitive development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason Murasko
- Economics, University of Houston - Clear Lake, Houston, Texas, USA
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Ong YY, Rifas-Shiman SL, Perng W, Belfort MB, Law E, Hivert MF, Oken E, Tiemeier H, Aris IM. Growth Velocities Across Distinct Early Life Windows and Child Cognition: Insights from a Contemporary US Cohort. J Pediatr 2023; 263:113653. [PMID: 37541424 PMCID: PMC10837309 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2023.113653] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2023] [Revised: 07/06/2023] [Accepted: 07/27/2023] [Indexed: 08/06/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To evaluate the relative importance of overall and period-specific postnatal growth and their interaction with fetal growth on cognition in a generally well-nourished population. STUDY DESIGN We included 1052 children from Project Viva, a prospective cohort in Boston, Massachusetts. Using linear spline mixed-effects models, we modeled length/height and body mass index (BMI) trajectories from birth to 7 years and estimated standardized overall (0-7 years) and period-specific growth velocities ie, early infancy (0-4 months), late infancy (4-15 months), toddlerhood (15-37 months), and early childhood (37-84 months). We investigated associations of growth velocities as well as their interactions with birthweight-for-gestational age on mid-childhood (mean age: 7.9 years) IQ, visual memory and learning, and visual motor ability. RESULTS Greater overall height velocity was associated with modestly higher design memory score, (adjusted β [95% CI] 0.19 [-0.01,0.38] P = .057])points per SD increase but lower verbal IQ (-0.88 [-1.76,0.00] P = .051). Greater early infancy height velocity was associated with higher visual motor score (1.92 [0.67,3.18]). Greater overall BMI velocity was associated with lower verbal IQ (-0.71 [-1.52,0.11] P = .090). Greater late infancy BMI velocity was associated with lower verbal IQ (-1.21 [-2.07,-0.34]), design memory score (-0.22 [-0.42,-0.03)], but higher picture memory score (0.22 [0.01,0.43]). Greater early infancy height velocity (-1.5 SD vs 1.5 SD) was associated with higher nonverbal IQ (margins [95% CI] 102.6 [98.9106.3] vs 108.2 [104.9111.6]) among small-for-gestational age infants (P-interaction = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS Among generally well-nourished children, there might not be clear cognitive gains with faster linear growth except for those with lower birthweight-for-gestational age, revealing the potential importance of early infancy compensatory growth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi Ying Ong
- Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA; Department of Paediatrics, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
| | - Sheryl L Rifas-Shiman
- Division of Chronic Disease Research Across the Lifecourse, Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, Boston, MA
| | - Wei Perng
- Department of Epidemiology, Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO; Department of Epidemiology, Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO
| | - Mandy B Belfort
- Department of Pediatric Newborn Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
| | - Evelyn Law
- Department of Paediatrics, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore; Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore
| | - Marie-France Hivert
- Division of Chronic Disease Research Across the Lifecourse, Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, Boston, MA; Diabetes Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA
| | - Emily Oken
- Division of Chronic Disease Research Across the Lifecourse, Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, Boston, MA
| | - Henning Tiemeier
- Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA
| | - Izzuddin M Aris
- Division of Chronic Disease Research Across the Lifecourse, Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, Boston, MA
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Silventoinen K, Lahtinen H, Davey Smith G, Morris TT, Martikainen P. Height, social position and coronary heart disease incidence: the contribution of genetic and environmental factors. J Epidemiol Community Health 2023; 77:384-390. [PMID: 36963814 DOI: 10.1136/jech-2022-219907] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2022] [Accepted: 03/13/2023] [Indexed: 03/26/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The associations between height, socioeconomic position (SEP) and coronary heart disease (CHD) incidence are well established, but the contribution of genetic factors to these associations is still poorly understood. We used a polygenic score (PGS) for height to shed light on these associations. METHODS Finnish population-based health surveys in 1992-2011 (response rates 65-93%) were linked to population registers providing information on SEP and CHD incidence up to 2019. The participants (N=29 996; 54% women) were aged 25-75 at baseline, and there were 1767 CHD incident cases (32% in women) during 472 973 person years of follow-up. PGS-height was calculated based on 33 938 single-nucleotide polymorphisms, and residual height was defined as the residual of height after adjusting for PGS-height in a linear regression model. HRs of CHD incidence were calculated using Cox regression. RESULTS PGS-height and residual height showed clear gradients for education, social class and income, with a larger association for residual height. Residual height also showed larger associations with CHD incidence (HRs per 1 SD 0.94 in men and 0.87 in women) than PGS-height (HRs per 1 SD 0.99 and 0.97, respectively). Only a small proportion of the associations between SEP and CHD incidence was statistically explained by the height indicators (6% or less). CONCLUSIONS Residual height associations with SEP and CHD incidence were larger than for PGS-height. This supports the role of material and social living conditions in childhood as contributing factors to the association of height with both SEP and CHD risk.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karri Silventoinen
- Population Research Unit, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Hannu Lahtinen
- Population Research Unit, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - George Davey Smith
- Bristol Medical School, Population Health Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit at the University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Tim T Morris
- Bristol Medical School, Population Health Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit at the University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Pekka Martikainen
- Population Research Unit, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Centre for Health Equity Studies, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
- Max-Planck-Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany
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Eichelberger DA, Sticca F, Kübler DR, Kakebeeke TH, Caflisch JA, Jenni OG, Wehrle FM. Stability of mental abilities and physical growth from 6 months to 65 years: Findings from the Zurich Longitudinal Studies. INTELLIGENCE 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.intell.2023.101730] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/11/2023]
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Minică CC, Boomsma DI, Dolan CV, de Geus E, Neale MC. Empirical comparisons of multiple Mendelian randomization approaches in the presence of assortative mating. Int J Epidemiol 2020; 49:1185-1193. [PMID: 32155257 PMCID: PMC7660149 DOI: 10.1093/ije/dyaa013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2020] [Accepted: 01/23/2020] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Mendelian randomization (MR) is widely used to unravel causal relationships in epidemiological studies. Whereas multiple MR methods have been developed to control for bias due to horizontal pleiotropy, their performance in the presence of other sources of bias, like non-random mating, has been mostly evaluated using simulated data. Empirical comparisons of MR estimators in such scenarios have yet to be conducted. Pleiotropy and non-random mating have been shown to account equally for the genetic correlation between height and educational attainment. Previous studies probing the causal nature of this association have produced conflicting results. METHODS We estimated the causal effect of height on educational attainment in various MR models, including the MR-Egger and the MR-Direction of Causation (MR-DoC) models that correct for, or explicitly model, horizontal pleiotropy. RESULTS We reproduced the weak but positive association between height and education in the Netherlands Twin Register sample (P= 3.9 × 10-6). All MR analyses suggested that height has a robust, albeit small, causal effect on education. We showed via simulations that potential assortment for height and education had no effect on the causal parameter in the MR-DoC model. With the pleiotropic effect freely estimated, MR-DoC yielded a null finding. CONCLUSIONS Non-random mating may have a bearing on the results of MR studies based on unrelated individuals. Family data enable tests of causal relationships to be conducted more rigorously, and are recommended to triangulate results of MR studies assessing pairs of traits leading to non-random mate selection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camelia C Minică
- Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam The Netherlands
| | - Dorret I Boomsma
- Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam The Netherlands
| | - Conor V Dolan
- Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam The Netherlands
| | - Eco de Geus
- Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam The Netherlands
| | - Michael C Neale
- Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam The Netherlands
- Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
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DeLecce T, Fink B, Shackelford T, Abed MG. No Evidence for a Relationship between Intelligence and Ejaculate Quality. EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY 2020; 18:1474704920960450. [PMID: 32945185 PMCID: PMC10358410 DOI: 10.1177/1474704920960450] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2020] [Accepted: 09/01/2020] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Genetic quality may be expressed through many traits simultaneously, and this would suggest a phenotype-wide fitness factor. In humans, intelligence has been positively associated with several potential indicators of genetic quality, including ejaculate quality. We conducted a conceptual replication of one such study by investigating the relationship between intelligence (assessed by the Raven Advanced Progressive Matrices Test-Short Form) and ejaculate quality (indexed by sperm count, sperm concentration, and sperm motility) in a sample of 41 men (ages ranging 18 to 33 years; M = 23.33; SD = 3.60). By self-report, participants had not had a vasectomy, and had never sought infertility treatment. We controlled for several covariates known to affect ejaculate quality (e.g., abstinence duration before providing an ejaculate) and found no statistically significant relationship between intelligence and ejaculate quality; our findings, therefore, do not match those of Arden, Gottfredson, Miller et al. or those of previous studies. We discuss limitations of this study and the general research area and highlight the need for future research in this area, especially the need for larger data sets to address questions around phenotypic quality and ejaculate quality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tara DeLecce
- Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, MI, USA
| | - Bernhard Fink
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna, Austria
- Biosocial Science Information, Biedermannsdorf, Austria
- Department of Behavioral Ecology, University of Goettingen, Germany
| | - Todd Shackelford
- Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, MI, USA
| | - Mohaned G. Abed
- King Abdulaziz University, Educational Graduate Studies, Al Ehtifalat St, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia
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Valge M, Meitern R, Hõrak P. Morphometric traits predict educational attainment independently of socioeconomic background. BMC Public Health 2019; 19:1696. [PMID: 31852467 PMCID: PMC6921596 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-019-8072-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2019] [Accepted: 12/11/2019] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Aim of this study is to describe the relationship between anthropometric traits and educational attainment among Estonian schoolchildren born between 1937 and 1962. We asked whether height, cranial volume and face width (a testosterone-dependent trait), measured in childhood predict later educational attainment independently of each other, family socioeconomic position (SEP) and sex. Associations between morphometric traits and education and their interactions with biosocial variables are of scholarly importance because higher education is nearly universally associated with low fertility in women, and often with high fertility in men. Hence, morphometric traits associated with educational attainment are targeted by natural selection and describing the exact nature of these associations is relevant for understanding the current patterns of evolution of human body size. Methods Data on morphometric measurements and family background of 11,032 Estonian schoolchildren measured between seven and 19 years of age were obtained from the study performed by Juhan Aul between 1956 and 1969. Ordinal logistic regression was used for testing the effects of morphometric traits, biosocial variables and their interaction on the cumulative probability of obtaining education beyond primary level. Results Of biosocial variables, family SEP was the most important determinant of educational attainment, followed by the sex, rural vs urban origin and the number of siblings. No significant interactions with morphometric traits were detected, i.e., within each category of SEP, rural vs urban origin and sex, taller children and those with larger heads and relatively narrower faces were more likely to proceed to secondary and/or tertiary education. The effect of height on education was independent of cranial volume, indicating that taller children did not obtain more educations because their brains were larger than those of shorter children; height per se was important. Conclusions Our main finding – that adjusting for other morphometric traits and biosocial variables, morphometric traits still robustly predicted educational attainment, is relevant for understanding the current patterns of evolution of human body size. Our findings suggest that fecundity selection acting on educational attainment could be partly responsible for the concurrent selection for smaller stature and cranial volume in women and opposite trends in men.
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Affiliation(s)
- Markus Valge
- Department of Zoology, University of Tartu, Vanemuise 46, 51014, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Richard Meitern
- Department of Zoology, University of Tartu, Vanemuise 46, 51014, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Peeter Hõrak
- Department of Zoology, University of Tartu, Vanemuise 46, 51014, Tartu, Estonia.
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Zarnani K, Nichols TE, Alfaro-Almagro F, Fagerlund B, Lauritzen M, Rostrup E, Smith SM. Discovering markers of healthy aging: a prospective study in a Danish male birth cohort. Aging (Albany NY) 2019; 11:5943-5974. [PMID: 31480020 PMCID: PMC6738442 DOI: 10.18632/aging.102151] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2019] [Accepted: 07/31/2019] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
There is a pressing need to identify markers of cognitive and neural decline in healthy late-midlife participants. We explored the relationship between cross-sectional structural brain-imaging derived phenotypes (IDPs) and cognitive ability, demographic, health and lifestyle factors (non-IDPs). Participants were recruited from the 1953 Danish Male Birth Cohort (N=193). Applying an extreme group design, members were selected in 2 groups based on cognitive change between IQ at age ~20y (IQ-20) and age ~57y (IQ-57). Subjects showing the highest (n=95) and lowest (n=98) change were selected (at age ~57) for assessments on multiple IDPs and non-IDPs. We investigated the relationship between 453 IDPs and 70 non-IDPs through pairwise correlation and multivariate canonical correlation analysis (CCA) models. Significant pairwise associations included positive associations between IQ-20 and gray-matter volume of the temporal pole. CCA identified a richer pattern - a single "positive-negative" mode of population co-variation coupling individual cross-subject variations in IDPs to an extensive range of non-IDP measures (r = 0.75, Pcorrected < 0.01). Specifically, this mode linked higher cognitive performance, positive early-life social factors, and mental health to a larger brain volume of several brain structures, overall volume, and microstructural properties of some white matter tracts. Interestingly, both statistical models identified IQ-20 and gray-matter volume of the temporal pole as important contributors to the inter-individual variation observed. The converging patterns provide novel insight into the importance of early adulthood intelligence as a significant marker of late-midlife neural decline and motivates additional study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kiyana Zarnani
- Functional Imaging Unit, Department of Clinical Physiology, Nuclear Medicine and PET, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Glostrup, Denmark.,Center for Healthy Aging, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.,Department of Neuroscience, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.,Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Oxford Centre for Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Brain (FMRIB), Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Thomas E Nichols
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Oxford Centre for Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Brain (FMRIB), Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.,Oxford Big Data Institute, Li Ka Shing, Centre For Health Information and Discovery, Nuffield Department of Population Health University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.,Department of Statistics, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK
| | - Fidel Alfaro-Almagro
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Oxford Centre for Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Brain (FMRIB), Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Birgitte Fagerlund
- Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research, Mental Health Center, Glostrup, Denmark.,Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Martin Lauritzen
- Center for Healthy Aging, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.,Department of Neuroscience, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.,Department of Clinical Medicine, Glostrup, Denmark
| | - Egill Rostrup
- Center for Healthy Aging, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.,Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research, Mental Health Center, Glostrup, Denmark.,Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Stephen M Smith
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Oxford Centre for Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Brain (FMRIB), Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
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Body mass index and height in 11- to 16-year-old Austrian students attending two different school types with divergent socioeconomic backgrounds. Wien Klin Wochenschr 2019; 131:337-346. [PMID: 30937540 PMCID: PMC6647492 DOI: 10.1007/s00508-019-1479-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2018] [Accepted: 03/06/2019] [Indexed: 12/02/2022]
Abstract
Background In developed countries high socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with lower body mass index (BMI) and greater height compared with low SES. Aim To investigate differences in BMI/height in adolescent students from two different school types with divergent SES backgrounds. Methods A total of 4579 students (2313 female), aged 11–16 years, attending either low SES vocation-directed secondary schools (VSS) or high SES secondary academic schools (AHS) were compared. Potential differences were investigated using ANCOVA models including sex, school type, geographical region and degree of urbanicity. Results At all ages between 11 and 16 years the BMI of students attending VSS was significantly higher than that of students attending AHS (mean +0.87kg/m2). The AHS students were on average taller (mean +0.93cm; p<0.001), without statistically significant age-specific differences. The taller height contributed to lower BMI by approximately 25%. Short stature, overweight and obesity were 2.3-fold, 1.8-fold and 2.5-fold, respectively more frequent in VSS than in AHS students. The BMI was higher in students in Vienna than in communities with >100,000 (p<0.001) and 20,000-100,000 (p=0.045) but similar to communities with <20,000 inhabitants. Conclusion These findings suggest that differences in BMI and height between students reflect early SES-based grouping into school types according to the academic level of the schools they attend.
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Brain structure mediates the association between height and cognitive ability. Brain Struct Funct 2018; 223:3487-3494. [PMID: 29748873 PMCID: PMC6425087 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-018-1675-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2017] [Accepted: 04/28/2018] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
Height and general cognitive ability are positively associated, but the underlying mechanisms of this relationship are not well understood. Both height and general cognitive ability are positively associated with brain size. Still, the neural substrate of the height-cognitive ability association is unclear. We used a sample of 515 middle-aged male twins with structural magnetic resonance imaging data to investigate whether the association between height and cognitive ability is mediated by cortical size. In addition to cortical volume, we used genetically, ontogenetically and phylogenetically distinct cortical metrics of total cortical surface area and mean cortical thickness. Height was positively associated with general cognitive ability and total cortical volume and cortical surface area, but not with mean cortical thickness. Mediation models indicated that the well-replicated height-general cognitive ability association is accounted for by individual differences in total cortical volume and cortical surface area (highly heritable metrics related to global brain size), and that the genetic association between cortical surface area and general cognitive ability underlies the phenotypic height-general cognitive ability relationship.
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Lång E, Nystedt P. Two by two, inch by inch: Height as an indicator of environmental conditions during childhood and its influence on earnings over the life cycle among twins. ECONOMICS AND HUMAN BIOLOGY 2018; 28:53-66. [PMID: 29288870 DOI: 10.1016/j.ehb.2017.12.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2017] [Revised: 11/20/2017] [Accepted: 12/01/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Adult height is a function of genetic predispositions and environmental influences during childhood. Hence, any variation in height among monozygotic twins, who share genetic predispositions, is bound to reflect differences in their environmental exposure. Therefore, a height premium in earnings among monozygotic twins also reflects such exposure. In this study, we analyze the height premium over the life cycle among Swedish twins, 10,000 of whom are monozygotic. The premium is relatively constant over the life cycle, amounting to 5-6% higher earnings per decimeter for men and less for women, suggesting that environmental conditions in childhood and youth affect earnings over most of the adult life course. The premium is larger below median height for men and above median height for young women. The estimates are similar for monozygotic and dizygotic twins, indicating that environmentally and genetically induced height differences are similarly associated with earnings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisabeth Lång
- Department of Management and Engineering, Linköping University, 58183 Linköping, Sweden.
| | - Paul Nystedt
- Jönköping Academy for Improvement of Health and Welfare, Jönköping, Sweden; Jönköping International Business School, Box 1026, 55111 Jönköping, Sweden.
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Silventoinen K, Jelenkovic A, Latvala A, Sund R, Yokoyama Y, Ullemar V, Almqvist C, Derom CA, Vlietinck RF, Loos RJF, Kandler C, Honda C, Inui F, Iwatani Y, Watanabe M, Rebato E, Stazi MA, Fagnani C, Brescianini S, Hur YM, Jeong HU, Cutler TL, Hopper JL, Busjahn A, Saudino KJ, Ji F, Ning F, Pang Z, Rose RJ, Koskenvuo M, Heikkilä K, Cozen W, Hwang AE, Mack TM, Siribaddana SH, Hotopf M, Sumathipala A, Rijsdijk F, Sung J, Kim J, Lee J, Lee S, Nelson TL, Whitfield KE, Tan Q, Zhang D, Llewellyn CH, Fisher A, Burt SA, Klump KL, Knafo-Noam A, Mankuta D, Abramson L, Medland SE, Martin NG, Montgomery GW, Magnusson PKE, Pedersen NL, Dahl Aslan AK, Corley RP, Huibregtse BM, Öncel SY, Aliev F, Krueger RF, McGue M, Pahlen S, Willemsen G, Bartels M, van Beijsterveldt CEM, Silberg JL, Eaves LJ, Maes HH, Harris JR, Brandt I, Nilsen TS, Rasmussen F, Tynelius P, Baker LA, Tuvblad C, Ordoñana JR, Sánchez-Romera JF, Colodro-Conde L, Gatz M, Butler DA, Lichtenstein P, Goldberg JH, Harden KP, Tucker-Drob EM, Duncan GE, Buchwald D, Tarnoki AD, Tarnoki DL, Franz CE, Kremen WS, Lyons MJ, Maia JA, Freitas DL, Turkheimer E, Sørensen TIA, Boomsma DI, Kaprio J. Education in Twins and Their Parents Across Birth Cohorts Over 100 years: An Individual-Level Pooled Analysis of 42-Twin Cohorts. Twin Res Hum Genet 2017; 20:395-405. [PMID: 28975875 PMCID: PMC5969906 DOI: 10.1017/thg.2017.49] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
Whether monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins differ from each other in a variety of phenotypes is important for genetic twin modeling and for inferences made from twin studies in general. We analyzed whether there were differences in individual, maternal and paternal education between MZ and DZ twins in a large pooled dataset. Information was gathered on individual education for 218,362 adult twins from 27 twin cohorts (53% females; 39% MZ twins), and on maternal and paternal education for 147,315 and 143,056 twins respectively, from 28 twin cohorts (52% females; 38% MZ twins). Together, we had information on individual or parental education from 42 twin cohorts representing 19 countries. The original education classifications were transformed to education years and analyzed using linear regression models. Overall, MZ males had 0.26 (95% CI [0.21, 0.31]) years and MZ females 0.17 (95% CI [0.12, 0.21]) years longer education than DZ twins. The zygosity difference became smaller in more recent birth cohorts for both males and females. Parental education was somewhat longer for fathers of DZ twins in cohorts born in 1990-1999 (0.16 years, 95% CI [0.08, 0.25]) and 2000 or later (0.11 years, 95% CI [0.00, 0.22]), compared with fathers of MZ twins. The results show that the years of both individual and parental education are largely similar in MZ and DZ twins. We suggest that the socio-economic differences between MZ and DZ twins are so small that inferences based upon genetic modeling of twin data are not affected.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karri Silventoinen
- Department of Social Research, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Aline Jelenkovic
- Department of Social Research, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Department of Genetics, Physical Anthropology and Animal Physiology, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, Leioa, Spain
| | - Antti Latvala
- Institute for Molecular Medicine FIMM, Helsinki, Finland
- Department of Public Health, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Reijo Sund
- Department of Social Research, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
| | - Yoshie Yokoyama
- Department of Public Health Nursing, Osaka City University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Vilhelmina Ullemar
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Catarina Almqvist
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Pediatric Allergy and Pulmonology Unit at Astrid Lindgren Children’s Hospital, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Catherine A. Derom
- Centre of Human Genetics, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Ghent University Hospitals, Ghent, Belgium
| | | | - Ruth J. F. Loos
- The Charles Bronfman Institute for Personalized Medicine, The Mindich Child Health and Development Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Christian Kandler
- Department of Psychology, MSB Medical School Berlin, School of Health and Medicine, Berlin, Germany
| | - Chika Honda
- Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Fujio Inui
- Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
- Faculty of Health Science, Kio University, Nara, Japan
| | - Yoshinori Iwatani
- Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Mikio Watanabe
- Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Esther Rebato
- Department of Genetics, Physical Anthropology and Animal Physiology, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, Leioa, Spain
| | - Maria A. Stazi
- Istituto Superiore di Sanità – Centre for Behavioural Sciences and Mental Health, Rome, Italy
| | - Corrado Fagnani
- Istituto Superiore di Sanità – Centre for Behavioural Sciences and Mental Health, Rome, Italy
| | - Sonia Brescianini
- Istituto Superiore di Sanità – Centre for Behavioural Sciences and Mental Health, Rome, Italy
| | - Yoon-Mi Hur
- Department of Education, Mokpo National University, Jeonnam, South Korea
| | - Hoe-Uk Jeong
- Department of Education, Mokpo National University, Jeonnam, South Korea
| | - Tessa L. Cutler
- The Australian Twin Registry, Centre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
| | - John L. Hopper
- The Australian Twin Registry, Centre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
- Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea
| | | | - Kimberly J. Saudino
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciencies, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Fuling Ji
- Department of Noncommunicable Diseases Prevention, Qingdao Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Qingdao, China
| | - Feng Ning
- Department of Noncommunicable Diseases Prevention, Qingdao Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Qingdao, China
| | - Zengchang Pang
- Department of Noncommunicable Diseases Prevention, Qingdao Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Qingdao, China
| | - Richard J. Rose
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
| | - Markku Koskenvuo
- Institute for Molecular Medicine FIMM, Helsinki, Finland
- Department of Public Health, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Kauko Heikkilä
- Institute for Molecular Medicine FIMM, Helsinki, Finland
- Department of Public Health, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Wendy Cozen
- Department of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine of USC, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Amie E. Hwang
- Department of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine of USC, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Thomas M. Mack
- Department of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine of USC, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Sisira H. Siribaddana
- Institute of Research & Development, Battaramulla, Sri Lanka
- Faculty of Medicine & Allied Sciences, Rajarata University of Sri Lanka Saliyapura, Sri Lanka
| | - Matthew Hotopf
- NIHR Mental Health Biomedical Research Centre, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, and Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - Athula Sumathipala
- Institute of Research & Development, Battaramulla, Sri Lanka
- Research Institute for Primary Care and Health Sciences, School for Primary Care Research (SPCR), Faculty of Health, Keele University, Staffordshire, UK
| | - Fruhling Rijsdijk
- MRC Social, Genetic & Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - Joohon Sung
- Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea
- Institute of Health and Environment, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Jina Kim
- Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Jooyeon Lee
- Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Sooji Lee
- Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Tracy L. Nelson
- Department of Health and Exercise Sciences and Colorado School of Public Health, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | | | - Qihua Tan
- Department of Public Health, Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Biodemography, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
| | - Dongfeng Zhang
- Department of Public Health, Qingdao University Medical College, Qingdao, China
| | - Clare H. Llewellyn
- Health Behaviour Research Centre, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Institute of Epidemiology and Health Care, University College London, London, UK
| | - Abigail Fisher
- Health Behaviour Research Centre, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Institute of Epidemiology and Health Care, University College London, London, UK
| | | | | | | | - David Mankuta
- Hadassah Hospital Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, Hebrew University Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Lior Abramson
- The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Sarah E. Medland
- Genetic Epidemiology Department, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Nicholas G. Martin
- Genetic Epidemiology Department, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Grant W. Montgomery
- Molecular Epidemiology Department, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Patrik K. E. Magnusson
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Nancy L. Pedersen
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Anna K. Dahl Aslan
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Institute of Gerontology and Aging Research Network — Jönköping (ARN-J), School of Health and Welfare Jönköping University, Jönköping, Sweden
| | - Robin P. Corley
- Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
| | | | - Sevgi Y. Öncel
- Department of Statistics, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Kırıkkale University, Kırıkkale, Turkey
| | - Fazil Aliev
- Psychology and African American Studies, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
- Faculty of Business, Karabuk University, Turkey
| | - Robert F. Krueger
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Matt McGue
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Shandell Pahlen
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Gonneke Willemsen
- Department of Biological Psychology, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Meike Bartels
- Department of Biological Psychology, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | | | - Judy L. Silberg
- Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
| | - Lindon J. Eaves
- Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
| | - Hermine H. Maes
- Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Psychiatry and Massey Cancer Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
| | | | | | | | | | - Per Tynelius
- Department of Public Health Sciences, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Laura A. Baker
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Catherine Tuvblad
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- School of Law, Psychology and Social Work/Criminology, Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden
| | - Juan R. Ordoñana
- Department of Human Anatomy and Psychobiology, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain
- IMIB-Arrixaca, Murcia, Spain
| | - Juan F. Sánchez-Romera
- Department of Human Anatomy and Psychobiology, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain
- IMIB-Arrixaca, Murcia, Spain
| | - Lucia Colodro-Conde
- Department of Human Anatomy and Psychobiology, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain
- QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Margaret Gatz
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - David A. Butler
- Health and Medicine Division, The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Paul Lichtenstein
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Jack H. Goldberg
- Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - K. Paige Harden
- Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | | | - Glen E. Duncan
- Washington State Twin Registry, Washington State University – Health Sciences Spokane, Spokane, WA, USA
| | - Dedra Buchwald
- Washington State Twin Registry, Washington State University – Health Sciences Spokane, Spokane, WA, USA
| | - Adam D. Tarnoki
- Department of Radiology, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
- Hungarian Twin Registry, Budapest, Hungary
| | - David L. Tarnoki
- Department of Radiology, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
- Hungarian Twin Registry, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Carol E. Franz
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - William S. Kremen
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, CA, USA
- VA San Diego Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | | | - José A. Maia
- CIFI2D, Faculty of Sport, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - Duarte L. Freitas
- Department of Physical Education and Sport, University of Madeira, Funchal, Portugal
| | - Eric Turkheimer
- Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
| | - Thorkild I. A. Sørensen
- Novo Nordisk Foundation Centre for Basic Metabolic Research (Section on Metabolic Genetics), and Department of Public Health, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Dorret I. Boomsma
- Department of Biological Psychology, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Jaakko Kaprio
- Institute for Molecular Medicine FIMM, Helsinki, Finland
- Department of Public Health, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
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14
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Hagenaars SP, Gale CR, Deary IJ, Harris SE. Cognitive ability and physical health: a Mendelian randomization study. Sci Rep 2017; 7:2651. [PMID: 28572633 PMCID: PMC5453939 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-02837-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2017] [Accepted: 04/19/2017] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Causes of the association between cognitive ability and health remain unknown, but may reflect a shared genetic aetiology. This study examines the causal genetic associations between cognitive ability and physical health. We carried out two-sample Mendelian randomization analyses using the inverse-variance weighted method to test for causality between later life cognitive ability, educational attainment (as a proxy for cognitive ability in youth), BMI, height, systolic blood pressure, coronary artery disease, and type 2 diabetes using data from six independent GWAS consortia and the UK Biobank sample (N = 112 151). BMI, systolic blood pressure, coronary artery disease and type 2 diabetes showed negative associations with cognitive ability; height was positively associated with cognitive ability. The analyses provided no evidence for casual associations from health to cognitive ability. In the other direction, higher educational attainment predicted lower BMI, systolic blood pressure, coronary artery disease, type 2 diabetes, and taller stature. The analyses indicated no causal association from educational attainment to physical health. The lack of evidence for causal associations between cognitive ability, educational attainment, and physical health could be explained by weak instrumental variables, poorly measured outcomes, or the small number of disease cases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saskia P Hagenaars
- Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, University of Edinburgh, 7 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9JZ, UK
- Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, 7 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9JZ, UK
- Division of Psychiatry, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH10 5HF, UK
| | - Catharine R Gale
- Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, University of Edinburgh, 7 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9JZ, UK
- Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, 7 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9JZ, UK
- MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
| | - Ian J Deary
- Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, University of Edinburgh, 7 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9JZ, UK
- Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, 7 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9JZ, UK
| | - Sarah E Harris
- Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, University of Edinburgh, 7 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9JZ, UK.
- Medical Genetics Section, University of Edinburgh Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine and MRC Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, Western General Hospital, Crewe Road, Edinburgh, EH4 2XU, UK.
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15
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Harris MA, Brett CE, Deary IJ, Starr JM. Associations among height, body mass index and intelligence from age 11 to age 78 years. BMC Geriatr 2016; 16:167. [PMID: 27681526 PMCID: PMC5041406 DOI: 10.1186/s12877-016-0340-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2015] [Accepted: 09/19/2016] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Intelligence is related to both height and body mass index (BMI) at various stages of life. Several studies have demonstrated longitudinal relationships between these measures, but none has established whether height and intelligence, or BMI and intelligence are linked from childhood through to older age. Methods We assessed the relations between these measures over an interval of up to 67 years using data from the 36-Day Sample, an initially-representative sample of Scottish people born in 1936, assessed at age 11 years (N = 6,291) and again at 77–78 years (N = 722). This paper focuses on the 423 participants (6.7 % of the original sample) who provided relevant data in late adulthood. Results Height and intelligence were significantly positively associated in childhood (β = .23) and late adulthood (β = .21–.29). Longitudinal correlations also showed that childhood intelligence predicted late-adulthood height (β = .20), and childhood height predicted late-adulthood cognitive ability (β = .12–.14). We observed no significant relationship between BMI and intelligence either in childhood or in late adulthood, nor any longitudinal association between the two in this sample. Conclusions Our results on height and intelligence are the first to demonstrate that their relationship spans almost seven decades, from childhood through to late adulthood, and they call for further investigation into the mechanisms underlying this lifelong association. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12877-016-0340-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mathew A Harris
- Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK. .,Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
| | - Caroline E Brett
- Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.,School of Natural Sciences and Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK
| | - Ian J Deary
- Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - John M Starr
- Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.,Alzheimer Scotland Dementia Research Centre, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
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16
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Hõrak P, Valge M. Old-for-grade girls reproduce but do not mature early: Simply a mechanistic link between educational progress and pace of life? INTELLIGENCE 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.intell.2016.04.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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17
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Abstract
In this review, the potential causes and consequences of adult height, a measure of cumulative net nutrition, in modern populations are summarized. The mechanisms linking adult height and health are examined, with a focus on the role of potential confounders. Evidence across studies indicates that short adult height (reflecting growth retardation) in low- and middle-income countries is driven by environmental conditions, especially net nutrition during early years. Some of the associations of height with health and social outcomes potentially reflect the association between these environmental factors and such outcomes. These conditions are manifested in the substantial differences in adult height that exist between and within countries and over time. This review suggests that adult height is a useful marker of variation in cumulative net nutrition, biological deprivation, and standard of living between and within populations and should be routinely measured. Linkages between adult height and health, within and across generations, suggest that adult height may be a potential tool for monitoring health conditions and that programs focused on offspring outcomes may consider maternal height as a potentially important influence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica M Perkins
- J.M. Perkins is with the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA; the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA; and the Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Global Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. S.V. Subramanian is with the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA; and the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. G. Davey Smith is with the MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom. E. Özaltin is with the Health, Nutrition and Population Global Practice, The World Bank, Washington, DC, USA.
| | - S V Subramanian
- J.M. Perkins is with the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA; the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA; and the Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Global Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. S.V. Subramanian is with the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA; and the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. G. Davey Smith is with the MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom. E. Özaltin is with the Health, Nutrition and Population Global Practice, The World Bank, Washington, DC, USA.
| | - George Davey Smith
- J.M. Perkins is with the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA; the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA; and the Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Global Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. S.V. Subramanian is with the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA; and the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. G. Davey Smith is with the MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom. E. Özaltin is with the Health, Nutrition and Population Global Practice, The World Bank, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Emre Özaltin
- J.M. Perkins is with the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA; the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA; and the Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Global Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. S.V. Subramanian is with the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA; and the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. G. Davey Smith is with the MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom. E. Özaltin is with the Health, Nutrition and Population Global Practice, The World Bank, Washington, DC, USA.
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18
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Mendelian and polygenic inheritance of intelligence: A common set of causal genes? Using next-generation sequencing to examine the effects of 168 intellectual disability genes on normal-range intelligence. INTELLIGENCE 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.intell.2014.12.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
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19
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Guven C, Lee WS. Height, aging and cognitive abilities across Europe. ECONOMICS AND HUMAN BIOLOGY 2015; 16:16-29. [PMID: 24485906 DOI: 10.1016/j.ehb.2013.12.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2013] [Revised: 12/13/2013] [Accepted: 12/13/2013] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Previous research has found that as a marker of childhood circumstances, height is correlated with cognitive functioning at older ages. Using data from the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) and about 17,000 respondents from 11 countries, we find that height is positively and significantly associated with cognitive functioning in later life despite controlling for a myriad of possible confounding factors. A 10 cm increase in height is associated with a 0.04 standard deviation increase in a summary cognitive score (mean 0.02, std. dev. 0.77). We find that being born in a country where the infant mortality rate at the time of birth is high has a negative and significant influence on cognitive functioning in later life. A 10% increase in the infant mortality rate is associated with a 0.1 standard deviation decrease in the summary cognitive score. We also find some evidence that height serves as a protective factor against age related deterioration in cognitive functioning. For persons of average stature, age related decreases in cognition scores are 3-5 percentage points smaller if they move up a quartile in the height distribution. Our results also suggest that there is a significant positive association between height and cognitive abilities across countries for this pre-1950 birth cohort of respondents, with correlations ranging from 0.4 to 0.8.
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20
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Stulp G, Barrett L. Evolutionary perspectives on human height variation. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2014; 91:206-34. [DOI: 10.1111/brv.12165] [Citation(s) in RCA: 121] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2014] [Revised: 10/28/2014] [Accepted: 11/11/2014] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Gert Stulp
- Department of Population Health; London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine; Keppel Street London WC1E 7HT U.K
- Department of Sociology; University of Groningen; Grote Rozenstraat 31 9712 TS Groningen The Netherlands
| | - Louise Barrett
- Department of Psychology; University of Lethbridge; Lethbridge Alberta T1K 3M4 Canada
- Applied Behavioural Ecology and Ecosystems Research Unit; UNISA; Johannesburg South Africa
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21
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Marioni RE, Penke L, Davies G, Huffman JE, Hayward C, Deary IJ. The total burden of rare, non-synonymous exome genetic variants is not associated with childhood or late-life cognitive ability. Proc Biol Sci 2014; 281:20140117. [PMID: 24573858 PMCID: PMC3953855 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2014.0117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2014] [Accepted: 01/27/2014] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Human cognitive ability shows consistent, positive associations with fitness components across the life-course. Underlying genetic variation should therefore be depleted by selection, which is not observed. Genetic variation in general cognitive ability (intelligence) could be maintained by a mutation-selection balance, with rare variants contributing to its genetic architecture. This study examines the association between the total number of rare stop-gain/loss, splice and missense exonic variants and cognitive ability in childhood and old age in the same individuals. Exome array data were obtained in the Lothian Birth Cohorts of 1921 and 1936 (combined N = 1596). General cognitive ability was assessed at age 11 years and in late life (79 and 70 years, respectively) and was modelled against the total number of stop-gain/loss, splice, and missense exonic variants, with minor allele frequency less than or equal to 0.01, using linear regression adjusted for age and sex. In both cohorts and in both the childhood and late-life models, there were no significant associations between rare variant burden in the exome and cognitive ability that survived correction for multiple testing. Contrary to our a priori hypothesis, we observed no evidence for an association between the total number of rare exonic variants and either childhood cognitive ability or late-life cognitive ability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Riccardo E. Marioni
- Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, University of Edinburgh, 7 George Square, Edinburgh EH8 9JZ, UK
- Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, 7 George Square, Edinburgh EH8 9JZ, UK
| | - Lars Penke
- Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, University of Edinburgh, 7 George Square, Edinburgh EH8 9JZ, UK
- Institute of Psychology, Georg August University Göttingen, Goßlerstr. 14, Göttingen 37073, Germany
| | - Gail Davies
- Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, University of Edinburgh, 7 George Square, Edinburgh EH8 9JZ, UK
- Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, 7 George Square, Edinburgh EH8 9JZ, UK
- Medical Genetics Section, Centre for Genomics and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, UK
| | - Jennifer E. Huffman
- Medical Research Council Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, UK
| | - Caroline Hayward
- Medical Research Council Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, UK
| | - Ian J. Deary
- Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, University of Edinburgh, 7 George Square, Edinburgh EH8 9JZ, UK
- Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, 7 George Square, Edinburgh EH8 9JZ, UK
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22
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Marioni RE, Batty GD, Hayward C, Kerr SM, Campbell A, Hocking LJ, Porteous DJ, Visscher PM, Deary IJ. Common genetic variants explain the majority of the correlation between height and intelligence: the generation Scotland study. Behav Genet 2014; 44:91-6. [PMID: 24554214 PMCID: PMC3938855 DOI: 10.1007/s10519-014-9644-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2013] [Accepted: 01/29/2014] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
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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Affiliation(s)
- Riccardo E Marioni
- Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, University of Edinburgh, 7 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9JZ, UK,
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23
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Quan SA, Jeong JY, Kim DH. The Relationship between Height and Cognitive Function among Community-dwelling Elderly: Hallym Aging Study. Epidemiol Health 2013; 35:e2013002. [PMID: 23682335 PMCID: PMC3654091 DOI: 10.4178/epih/e2013002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2012] [Accepted: 02/06/2013] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Height is known as an index that reflects the environment of the fetal, childhood, and adolescent periods, which affect adult health. This study was conducted to elucidate whether height is associated with cognitive impairment in community-dwelling elders in Korea. METHODS The study subjects were recruited among community dwelling elderly individuals aged 65 or over who participated in the 2004 Hallym Aging Study. They were invited to a general hospital and were evaluated for socioeconomic status, smoking history, and various clinical measures. Cognitive function measurement was performed using the Korean-Mini Mental State Examination. Logistic regression was used to evaluate the association between height and cognitive function. RESULTS After adjusting for potential covariates such as age and education, the smallest group was associated with higher risk of cognitive impairment compared with the tallest group among elderly men (odds ratio [OR], 4.20; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.02-17.36), but not among elderly women (OR,1.65; 95% CI, 0.62-4.40). CONCLUSIONS The reason for this difference according to sex may be explained by the differential effects of education on cognitive function by sex. A larger population-based prospective cohort study is needed to examine the association between height and cognitive function according to sex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shan Ai Quan
- Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Hallym University College of Medicine, Chuncheon, Korea. ; Hallym Research Institute of Clinical Epidemiology, Chuncheon, Korea
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Keller MC, Garver-Apgar CE, Wright MJ, Martin NG, Corley RP, Stallings MC, Hewitt JK, Zietsch BP. The genetic correlation between height and IQ: shared genes or assortative mating? PLoS Genet 2013; 9:e1003451. [PMID: 23593038 PMCID: PMC3617178 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1003451] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2012] [Accepted: 03/01/2013] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Traits that are attractive to the opposite sex are often positively correlated when scaled such that scores increase with attractiveness, and this correlation typically has a genetic component. Such traits can be genetically correlated due to genes that affect both traits ("pleiotropy") and/or because assortative mating causes statistical correlations to develop between selected alleles across the traits ("gametic phase disequilibrium"). In this study, we modeled the covariation between monozygotic and dizygotic twins, their siblings, and their parents (total N = 7,905) to elucidate the nature of the correlation between two potentially sexually selected traits in humans: height and IQ. Unlike previous designs used to investigate the nature of the height-IQ correlation, the present design accounts for the effects of assortative mating and provides much less biased estimates of additive genetic, non-additive genetic, and shared environmental influences. Both traits were highly heritable, although there was greater evidence for non-additive genetic effects in males. After accounting for assortative mating, the correlation between height and IQ was found to be almost entirely genetic in nature. Model fits indicate that both pleiotropy and assortative mating contribute significantly and about equally to this genetic correlation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew C Keller
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, United States of America.
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Stulp G, Buunk AP, Verhulst S, Pollet TV. High and Mighty: Height Increases Authority in Professional Refereeing. EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY 2012. [DOI: 10.1177/147470491201000314] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Throughout the animal kingdom, larger males are more likely to attain social dominance. Several lines of evidence suggest that this relationship extends to humans, as height is positively related to dominance, status and authority. We hypothesized that height is also a determinant of authority in professional refereeing. According to the International Football Association Board, FIFA, football (“soccer”) referees have full authority to enforce the laws of the game and should use their body language to show authority and to help control the match. We show that height is indeed positively related to authority status: referees were taller than their assistants (who merely have an advisory role) in both a national (French League) and an international (World Cup 2010) tournament. Furthermore, using data from the German League, we found that height was positively associated with authoritative behavior. Taller referees were better able to maintain control of the game by giving fewer fouls, thereby increasing the “flow of the game”. Referee height was also positively associated with perceived referee competence, as taller referees were assigned to matches in which the visiting team had a higher ranking. Thus, height appears to be positively related to authority in professional refereeing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gert Stulp
- Department of Psychology, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands; Department of Behavioral biology, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Abraham P. Buunk
- Department of Psychology, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands; Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Simon Verhulst
- Department of Behavioral biology, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Thomas V. Pollet
- Department of Social and Organizational Psychology, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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Firmin MW, Hoffman SJ, Firmin RL, Lee AD, Vorobyov Y. Tall College Women's Social Dynamics Relating to Height. QUALITATIVE RESEARCH IN PSYCHOLOGY 2012. [DOI: 10.1080/14780887.2010.500354] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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Genetic and environmental contributions to the association between anthropometric measures and iq: a study of Minnesota twins at age 11 and 17. Behav Genet 2011; 42:393-401. [PMID: 22139438 DOI: 10.1007/s10519-011-9521-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2011] [Accepted: 11/16/2011] [Indexed: 10/14/2022]
Abstract
Associations of height and head circumference with IQ are well documented, but much less is known about the association of IQ with other anthropometric measures or the mechanisms behind these associations. We therefore analyzed the associations between IQ and several anthropometric measures using a twin-study design. Twins born in Minnesota were assessed at either age 11 (756 complete pairs) or 17 (626 complete pairs) and analyzed using genetic modeling. Head circumference and height showed the most consistent positive associations with IQ, whereas more detailed anthropometric measures were not significantly better predictors of IQ. These associations were mainly due to common genetic factors. Our results suggest that the same genetic factors have an effect on physical and cognitive development. Head circumference and height capture information on children's physical development, which is partly associated also with cognitive development.
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Jelenkovic A, Ortega-Alonso A, Rose RJ, Kaprio J, Rebato E, Silventoinen K. Genetic and environmental influences on growth from late childhood to adulthood: a longitudinal study of two Finnish twin cohorts. Am J Hum Biol 2011; 23:764-73. [PMID: 21957002 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.21208] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2011] [Revised: 05/11/2011] [Accepted: 06/20/2011] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Human growth is a complex process that remains insufficiently understood. We aimed to analyze genetic and environmental influences on growth from late childhood to early adulthood. METHODS Two cohorts of monozygotic and dizygotic (same sex and opposite sex) Finnish twin pairs were studied longitudinally using self-reported height at 11-12, 14, and 17 years and adult age (FinnTwin12) and at 16, 17, and 18 years and adult age (FinnTwin16). Univariate and multivariate variance component models for twin data were used. RESULTS From childhood to adulthood, genetic differences explained 72-81% of the variation of height in boys and 65-86% in girls. Environmental factors common to co-twins explained 5-23% of the variation of height, with the residual variation explained by environmental factors unique to each twin individual. Common environmental factors affecting height were highly correlated between the analyzed ages (0.72-0.99 and 0.91-1.00 for boys and girls, respectively). Genetic (0.58-0.99 and 0.70-0.99, respectively) and unique environmental factors (0.32-0.78 and 0.54-0.82, respectively) affecting height at different ages were more weakly, but still substantially, correlated. CONCLUSIONS The genetic contribution to height is strong during adolescence. The high genetic correlations detected across the ages encourage further efforts to identify genes affecting growth. Common and unique environmental factors affecting height during adolescence are also important, and further studies are necessary to identify their nature and test whether they interact with genetic factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aline Jelenkovic
- Department of Genetics, Physical Anthropology and Animal Physiology, University of the Basque Country, Bilbao, Spain.
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Woodley MA. The Cognitive Differentiation-Integration Effort Hypothesis: A Synthesis between the Fitness Indicator and Life History Models of Human Intelligence. REVIEW OF GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY 2011. [DOI: 10.1037/a0024348] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
This article presents a potential synthesis between the fitness indicator and life history models of human intelligence through consideration of the phenomena of ability differentiation and integration. The cognitive differentiation-integration effort hypothesis proposes that these effects result from a life history tradeoff between cognitive integration effort, a mating effort component associated with strengthening the positive manifold amongst abilities; and cognitive differentiation effort, a somatic effort component associated with the cultivation of specific abilities. This represents one of two largely independent sources of genetic variance in intelligence; the other is mediated by general fitness and mutation load and is associated with individual differences in levels of ‘genetic g‘. These two sources (along with a common source of environmental variance) combine to give rise to a variety of cognitive phenotypes characterized by different combinations of high or low levels of ‘genetic g‘ and cognitive specialism or generalism. Fundamental to this model is the assumption that measures of life history speed ( K) and g are essentially independent, which is demonstrated via meta-analysis of 10 studies reporting correlations between the variables (ρ = .023, ns, n = 2056). The implications of the model are discussed in an evolutionary, ecological, and developmental context. Seven key predictions are made in the discussion which if tested could provide definitive evidence for the hypothesis.
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Shared genetic architecture in the relationship between adult stature and subclinical coronary artery atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis 2011; 219:679-83. [PMID: 21937044 DOI: 10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2011.08.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2011] [Revised: 08/16/2011] [Accepted: 08/17/2011] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Short stature is associated with increased risk of coronary heart disease (CHD); although the mechanisms for this relationship are unknown, shared genetic factors have been proposed. Subclinical atherosclerosis, measured by coronary artery calcification (CAC), is associated with CHD events and represents part of the biological continuum to overt CHD. Many molecular mechanisms of CAC development are shared with bone growth. Thus, we examined whether there was evidence of shared genes (pleiotropy) between adult stature and CAC. METHODS 877 Asymptomatic white adults (46% men) from 625 families in a community-based sample had computed tomography measures of CAC. Pleiotropy between height and CAC was determined using maximum-likelihood estimation implemented in SOLAR. RESULTS Adult height was significantly and inversely associated with CAC score (P = 0.01). After adjusting for age, sex and CHD risk factors, the estimated genetic correlation between height and CAC score was -0.37 and was significantly different than 0 (P = 0.001) and -1 (P < 0.001). The environmental correlation between height and CAC score was 0.60 and was significantly different than 0 (P = 0.024). CONCLUSIONS Further studies of shared genetic factors between height and CAC may provide important insight into the complex genetic architecture of CHD, in part through increased understanding of the molecular pathways underlying the process of both normal growth and disease development. Bivariate genetic linkage analysis may provide a powerful mechanism for identifying specific genomic regions associated with both height and CAC.
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Beauchamp JP, Cesarini D, Johannesson M, Lindqvist E, Apicella C. On the sources of the height-intelligence correlation: new insights from a bivariate ACE model with assortative mating. Behav Genet 2011; 41:242-52. [PMID: 20603722 PMCID: PMC3044837 DOI: 10.1007/s10519-010-9376-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2009] [Accepted: 06/14/2010] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
A robust positive correlation between height and intelligence, as measured by IQ tests, has been established in the literature. This paper makes several contributions toward establishing the causes of this association. First, we extend the standard bivariate ACE model to account for assortative mating. The more general theoretical framework provides several key insights, including formulas to decompose a cross-trait genetic correlation into components attributable to assortative mating and pleiotropy and to decompose a cross-trait within-family correlation. Second, we use a large dataset of male twins drawn from Swedish conscription records and examine how well genetic and environmental factors explain the association between (i) height and intelligence and (ii) height and military aptitude, a professional psychologist's assessment of a conscript's ability to deal with wartime stress. For both traits, we find suggestive evidence of a shared genetic architecture with height, but we demonstrate that point estimates are very sensitive to assumed degrees of assortative mating. Third, we report a significant within-family correlation between height and intelligence (p^ = 0.10), suggesting that pleiotropy might be at play.
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Abstract
Although the subject is controversial, identifying the specific genes that contribute to general cognitive ability (GCA) has seemed to have good prospects, at least among psychological traits. GCA is reliably and validly measured and strongly heritable, and it shows genetically mediated physiological associations and developmental stability. To date, however, results have been disappointing. Human height shows these measurement characteristics even more strongly than GCA, yet data have indicated that no individual gene has more than trivial effects and this is also true for corn oil. The potential for environmental trigger of genetic expression, long recognized in evolutionary and developmental genetics, as applied to these seemingly disparate traits, can help us to understand the apparent contradiction between the heritability of intelligence and other psychological traits and the difficulty of identifying specific genetic effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wendy Johnson
- Department of Psychology and Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, University of Edinburgh, and Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota–Twin Cities
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Luciano M, Batty GD, McGilchrist M, Linksted P, Fitzpatrick B, Jackson C, Pattie A, Dominiczak AF, Morris AD, Smith BH, Porteous D, Deary IJ. Shared genetic aetiology between cognitive ability and cardiovascular disease risk factors: Generation Scotland's Scottish family health study. INTELLIGENCE 2010. [DOI: 10.1016/j.intell.2010.03.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
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Kim MY, Lee JW, Im JA, Lee DC. The Association between Height and Cognitive Function in Community Dwelling Old Women. Korean J Fam Med 2010. [DOI: 10.4082/kjfm.2010.31.2.108] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Moo-Young Kim
- Department of Family Medicine, Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
| | - Ji-Won Lee
- Department of Family Medicine, Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
| | - Jee-Aee Im
- Sports and Medicine Research Center, INTOTO Inc., Seoul, Korea
| | - Duk-Chul Lee
- Department of Family Medicine, Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
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Arden R, Gottfredson LS, Miller G. Does a fitness factor contribute to the association between intelligence and health outcomes? Evidence from medical abnormality counts among 3654 US Veterans. INTELLIGENCE 2009. [DOI: 10.1016/j.intell.2009.03.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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Marsh AA, Yu HH, Schechter JC, Blair RJR. Larger than life: humans' nonverbal status cues alter perceived size. PLoS One 2009; 4:e5707. [PMID: 19479082 PMCID: PMC2682645 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0005707] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2009] [Accepted: 04/27/2009] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Social dominance and physical size are closely linked. Nonverbal dominance displays in many non-human species are known to increase the displayer's apparent size. Humans also employ a variety of nonverbal cues that increase apparent status, but it is not yet known whether these cues function via a similar mechanism: by increasing the displayer's apparent size. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDING We generated stimuli in which actors displayed high status, neutral, or low status cues that were drawn from the findings of a recent meta-analysis. We then conducted four studies that indicated that nonverbal cues that increase apparent status do so by increasing the perceived size of the displayer. Experiment 1 demonstrated that nonverbal status cues affect perceivers' judgments of physical size. The results of Experiment 2 showed that altering simple perceptual cues can affect judgments of both size and perceived status. Experiment 3 used objective measurements to demonstrate that status cues change targets' apparent size in the two-dimensional plane visible to a perceiver, and Experiment 4 showed that changes in perceived size mediate changes in perceived status, and that the cue most associated with this phenomenon is postural openness. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE We conclude that nonverbal cues associated with social dominance also affect the perceived size of the displayer. This suggests that certain nonverbal dominance cues in humans may function as they do in other species: by creating the appearance of changes in physical size.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abigail A Marsh
- Department of Psychology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, United States of America.
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Genetic Covariation Between the Author Recognition Test and Reading and Verbal Abilities: What Can We Learn from the Analysis of High Performance? Behav Genet 2009; 39:417-26. [DOI: 10.1007/s10519-009-9275-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2008] [Accepted: 04/20/2009] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
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Silventoinen K, Pietiläinen KH, Tynelius P, Sørensen TIA, Kaprio J, Rasmussen F. Genetic regulation of growth from birth to 18 years of age: The Swedish young male twins study. Am J Hum Biol 2008; 20:292-8. [DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.20717] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
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Abstract
While there has been much emphasis on the objective properties of beautiful faces, some theories of physical attractiveness implicate norm-based coding of faces and experience-dependent preferences (e.g., Langlois & Roggman, 1990 ; Rhodes, Jeffery, Watson, Clifford, & Nakayama, 2003 ). This study further explored experiential influences by correlating a persons standing height with his/her ideal vertical location of the internal features in computerized faces. Taller raters created faces with larger ratios of forehead height to chin height–resulting in a larger forehead and a smaller chin, presumably caused by their biased exposure to faces from above eye level. Faces produced by shorter raters had a smaller forehead and a larger chin. The moderate correlation was maintained after controlling for age and gender (i.e., semipartial r = .41; N = 39), and rater height alone explained 24% of the variance in preferred location of the internal facial features. These results point to individual differences in perceptions of attractiveness, accounted for to some degree by the facial proportions encountered in everyday interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sybil Geldart
- Wilfrid Laurier University, Brantford Campus, Ontario, Canada
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Watve MG, Yajnik CS. Evolutionary origins of insulin resistance: a behavioral switch hypothesis. BMC Evol Biol 2007; 7:61. [PMID: 17437648 PMCID: PMC1868084 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2148-7-61] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2006] [Accepted: 04/17/2007] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Insulin resistance, which can lead to a number of diseases including type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease, is believed to have evolved as an adaptation to periodic starvation. The "thrifty gene" and "thrifty phenotype" hypotheses constitute the dominant paradigm for over four decades. With an increasing understanding of the diverse effects of impairment of the insulin signaling pathway, the existing hypotheses are proving inadequate. PRESENTATION OF THE HYPOTHESIS We propose a hypothesis that insulin resistance is a socio-ecological adaptation that mediates two phenotypic transitions, (i) a transition in reproductive strategy from "r" (large number of offspring with little investment in each) to "K" (smaller number of offspring with more investment in each) and (ii) a transition from "stronger to smarter" or "soldier to diplomat" i.e. from relatively more muscle dependent to brain dependent lifestyle. A common switch could have evolved for the two transitions since the appropriate environmental conditions for the two transitions are highly overlapping and interacting. TESTING THE HYPOTHESIS Gestational insulin resistance diverts more energy through the placenta, resulting in increased investment per offspring. On the other hand, insulin resistance is associated with reduced ovulation. The insulin signaling pathway is also related to longevity. Insulin resistance diverts more nutrients to the brain as compared to muscle. Also, hyperinsulinemia has direct positive effects on cognitive functions of the brain. The hypothesis gets support from known patterns in human clinical data and recent research on the molecular interactions in the insulin signaling pathway. Further we state many predictions of the hypothesis that can be tested experimentally or epidemiologically. IMPLICATIONS OF THE HYPOTHESIS The hypothesis can bring about a significant change in the line of treatment as well as public health policies for the control of metabolic syndrome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Milind G Watve
- Anujeeva Biosciences Pvt. Ltd., 10, Pranav Soc. 1000/6-c Navi peth, Pune 411030, India
- Department of Microbiology, Abasaheb Garware College, Pune 411004, India
| | - Chittaranjan S Yajnik
- Director, Kamalnayan Bajaj Diabetology Research Centre, King Edward Memorial Hospital, Pune 411011, India
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Hurd PL, van Anders SM. Latitude, digit ratios, and Allen's and Bergmann's rules: a comment on Loehlin, McFadden, Medland, and Martin (2006). ARCHIVES OF SEXUAL BEHAVIOR 2007; 36:139-41; author reply 143. [PMID: 17333323 DOI: 10.1007/s10508-006-9149-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
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