Abstract

Background

Emerging social genetics research suggests one’s genes may influence not just one’s own outcomes but also those of close social alters. Health implications, particularly in late life, remain underexplored. Using combined genetic and survey data, this study examined such transpersonal genetic associations among older U.S. couples.

Method

Data were from married or cohabiting couples in the 2006–2016 waves of the Health and Retirement Study, nationally representative of U.S. adults over 50. Measures included a polygenic score for educational attainment, and self-rated health. Analysis was through parallel process latent growth models.

Results

Women’s and men’s genetic scores for education had transpersonal linkages with their partner’s health. Such associations were solely with life-course variations and not late-life change in outcomes. Moreover, they were indirect, mediated by educational attainment itself. Evidence also emerged for individual-level genetic effects mediated by the partner’s education.

Discussion

In addition to the subject-specific linkages emphasized in extant genetics literature, relational contexts involve multiple transpersonal genetic associations. These appear to have consequences for a partner’s and one’s own health. Life-course theory indicates that a person is never not embedded in such contexts, suggesting that these patterns may be widespread. Research is needed on their implications for the life-course and gene–environment correlation literature.

中文翻译：

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美国老年夫妇的超个人遗传效应：一项纵向研究。

摘要

背景

新兴的社会遗传学研究表明，一个人的基因不仅会影响一个人的自身结果，而且还会影响紧密的社会变化。对健康的影响，尤其是在晚年生活中，仍未得到充分研究。结合遗传和调查数据，这项研究检查了美国年长夫妇之间的超个人遗传关联。

方法

数据来自2006-2016年健康与退休研究浪潮中已婚或同居夫妇，全国范围内代表50岁以上的美国成年人。这些指标包括教育程度的多基因评分和自我评估的健康状况。分析是通过并行过程潜在增长模型进行的。

结果

妇女和男子的教育遗传分数与伴侣的健康状况存在超个人联系。这种关联仅与人生历程的变化有关，而与结果的后期变化无关。而且，它们是间接的，受教育程度本身的调节。也出现了由伴侣的教育所介导的个体水平遗传效应的证据。

讨论区

除了现存的遗传学文献中强调的特定学科联系之外，关系情境还涉及多个超人的遗传关联。这些似乎对伴侣和自己的健康都有影响。生命历程理论表明，一个人永远不会陷入这样的环境中，这表明这些模式可能是广泛存在的。需要研究它们对生命历程和基因-环境相关文献的影响。