TY - JOUR
T1 - Using Polygenic Scores in Social Science Research
T2 - Unraveling Childlessness
AU - Verweij, Renske M.
AU - Mills, Melinda C.
AU - Stulp, Gert
AU - Nolte, Ilja M.
AU - Barban, Nicola
AU - Tropf, Felix C.
AU - Carrell, Douglas T.
AU - Aston, Kenneth I.
AU - Zondervan, Krina T.
AU - Rahmioglu, Nilufer
AU - Dalgaard, Marlene
AU - Skaarup, Carina
AU - Hayes, M. Geoffrey
AU - Dunaif, Andrea
AU - Guo, Guang
AU - Snieder, Harold
N1 - Funding Information:
The research leading to these results received funding from the NWO awarded to the faculty of Behavioral and Social Sciences at the University of Groningen (awarded to RV/MM). GS was supported by an NWO VENI Grant (451-15-034). MM received funding ERC, Consolidator Grant SOCIOGENOME (615603), UK ESRC/NCRM SOCGEN grant (ES/N011856/1), MM and KZ from the Wellcome Trust Institutional Strategic Support Fund and John Fell Fund.
Funding Information:
We acknowledge the contributions by Antonie Knigge and Kirsten van Houdt on the structure of the paper. We thank members of the Family, Life course and Aging group (University of Groningen), unit of Genetic Epidemiology and Bioinformatincs (University Medical Center Groningen), Sociogenome group (Oxford) and the Social Genetics club (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) for their input during different stages. Funding. The research leading to these results received funding from the NWO awarded to the faculty of Behavioral and Social Sciences at the University of Groningen (awarded to RV/MM). GS was supported by an NWO VENI Grant (451-15-034). MM received funding ERC, Consolidator Grant SOCIOGENOME (615603), UK ESRC/NCRM SOCGEN grant (ES/N011856/1), MM and KZ from the Wellcome Trust Institutional Strategic Support Fund and John Fell Fund.
Publisher Copyright:
© Copyright © 2019 Verweij, Mills, Stulp, Nolte, Barban, Tropf, Carrell, Aston, Zondervan, Rahmioglu, Dalgaard, Skaarup, Hayes, Dunaif, Guo and Snieder.
PY - 2019/11/22
Y1 - 2019/11/22
N2 - Biological, genetic, and socio-demographic factors are all important in explaining reproductive behavior, yet these factors are typically studied in isolation. In this study, we explore an innovative sociogenomic approach, which entails including key socio-demographic (marriage, education, occupation, religion, cohort) and genetic factors related to both behavioral [age at first birth (AFB), number of children ever born (NEB)] and biological fecundity-related outcomes (endometriosis, age at menopause and menarche, polycystic ovary syndrome, azoospermia, testicular dysgenesis syndrome) to explain childlessness. We examine the association of all sets of factors with childlessness as well as the interplay between them. We derive polygenic scores (PGS) from recent genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and apply these in the Health and Retirement Study (N = 10,686) and Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (N = 8,284). Both socio-demographic and genetic factors were associated with childlessness. Whilst socio-demographic factors explain 19–46% in childlessness, the current PGS explains <1% of the variance, and only PGSs from large GWASs are related to childlessness. Our findings also indicate that genetic and socio-demographic factors are not independent, with PGSs for AFB and NEB related to education and age at marriage. The explained variance by polygenic scores on childlessness is limited since it is largely a behavioral trait, with genetic explanations expected to increase somewhat in the future with better-powered GWASs. As genotyping of individuals in social science surveys becomes more prevalent, the method described in this study can be applied to other outcomes.
AB - Biological, genetic, and socio-demographic factors are all important in explaining reproductive behavior, yet these factors are typically studied in isolation. In this study, we explore an innovative sociogenomic approach, which entails including key socio-demographic (marriage, education, occupation, religion, cohort) and genetic factors related to both behavioral [age at first birth (AFB), number of children ever born (NEB)] and biological fecundity-related outcomes (endometriosis, age at menopause and menarche, polycystic ovary syndrome, azoospermia, testicular dysgenesis syndrome) to explain childlessness. We examine the association of all sets of factors with childlessness as well as the interplay between them. We derive polygenic scores (PGS) from recent genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and apply these in the Health and Retirement Study (N = 10,686) and Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (N = 8,284). Both socio-demographic and genetic factors were associated with childlessness. Whilst socio-demographic factors explain 19–46% in childlessness, the current PGS explains <1% of the variance, and only PGSs from large GWASs are related to childlessness. Our findings also indicate that genetic and socio-demographic factors are not independent, with PGSs for AFB and NEB related to education and age at marriage. The explained variance by polygenic scores on childlessness is limited since it is largely a behavioral trait, with genetic explanations expected to increase somewhat in the future with better-powered GWASs. As genotyping of individuals in social science surveys becomes more prevalent, the method described in this study can be applied to other outcomes.
KW - childlessness
KW - fertility
KW - infertility
KW - polygenic risk scores
KW - sociogenomics
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85092482946&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85092482946&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3389/fsoc.2019.00074
DO - 10.3389/fsoc.2019.00074
M3 - Article
C2 - 33869396
AN - SCOPUS:85092482946
VL - 4
JO - Frontiers in Sociology
JF - Frontiers in Sociology
SN - 2297-7775
M1 - 74
ER -