Genetic correlates of social stratification in Great Britain
- 21 October 2019
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in Nature Human Behaviour
- Vol. 3 (12), 1332-1342
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-019-0757-5
Abstract
Human DNA polymorphisms vary across geographic regions, with the most commonly observed variation reflecting distant ancestry differences. Here we investigate the geographic clustering of common genetic variants that influence complex traits in a sample of ~450,000 individuals from Great Britain. Of 33 traits analysed, 21 showed significant geographic clustering at the genetic level after controlling for ancestry, probably reflecting migration driven by socioeconomic status (SES). Alleles associated with educational attainment (EA) showed the most clustering, with EA-decreasing alleles clustering in lower SES areas such as coal mining areas. Individuals who leave coal mining areas carry more EA-increasing alleles on average than those in the rest of Great Britain. The level of geographic clustering is correlated with genetic associations between complex traits and regional measures of SES, health and cultural outcomes. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that social stratification leaves visible marks in geographic arrangements of common allele frequencies and gene–environment correlations.Keywords
This publication has 66 references indexed in Scilit:
- The genetic architecture of economic and political preferencesProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2012
- GCTA: A Tool for Genome-wide Complex Trait AnalysisAmerican Journal of Human Genetics, 2011
- The Geographic Distribution of Political PreferencesAnnual Review of Political Science, 2010
- Genes mirror geography within EuropeNature, 2008
- PLINK: A Tool Set for Whole-Genome Association and Population-Based Linkage AnalysesAmerican Journal of Human Genetics, 2007
- Twenty Years on: Has the Economy of the UK Coalfields Recovered?Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space, 2007
- The Genetics of Voting: An Australian Twin StudyBehavior Genetics, 2007
- Principal components analysis corrects for stratification in genome-wide association studiesNature Genetics, 2006
- Genetic and Environmental Influences on Religiousness: Findings for Retrospective and Current Religiousness RatingsJournal of Personality, 2005
- NOTES ON CONTINUOUS STOCHASTIC PHENOMENABiometrika, 1950